Chinese national Yun Hua Lin has been sentenced 14 years in prison for possession and dealing in rhino horns.

The Chinese convict has also been sentenced to serve six years in jail for money laundering offenses and the sentences will run concurrently.

Delivering her sentence on behalf of High Court Judge Violate Chipao on Tuesday afternoon, Senior Resident Magistrate Florence Msekandiana also directed that Lin be deported back to China once he completes serving his jail term.

“The sentence is very satisfactory that’s what I will be able to say, and what makes it more satisfactory is the order that the court has given that actually the recommendation to the minister of homeland security that the convict should be deported as well.”

“The process has been quite well, there have been other things that have been happening, he [Lin] is being having lawyers, changing lawyers which has been delaying the processes but we want say that if there was a waiting I think it was a worthy waiting,” said state hired lawyer Andy Kaonga.

Lin is believed to head up the ‘Lin-Zhang gang’, which has been operating out of Malawi for at least a decade.

The convict was arrested in August 2019 alongside Malawian National, James Mkwezelemba, after a 3-month manhunt by the authorities.

The sentencing of Lin brings the total of Lin Zhang gang members sent to prison to fourteen.

10 Chinese and four Malawian nationals have received prison sentences on a variety of offences related to the possession of firearms and protected or listed species, including pangolin, rhino horn, hippo teeth, or elephant ivory.