Irishman jailed 18 months for smuggling rhino horns

PantsBliz

Of the famous Rathkeale Rovers, Michael Hegarty has been wanted by the FBI for years.
He's been sentenced to 18 months in a Florida prison for trafficking a rhino horn.

Banged up abroad, bring him home! etc etc
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/10/02/he-smuggled-a-rhino-horn-artifact-out-of-miami-but-the-feds-were-watching/?utm_term=.9323b394b8b0
http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/281903/man-with-limerick-links-jailed-in-miami-for-rhino-horn-smuggling.html

Good to see this type of smuggling being enforced. Though, I wonder is there a market for carved rhino horns in Ireland?

Rubberchikken

After the campaign to gain his freedom, will he be on the late late.

PantsBliz

Rubberchikken wrote: »

After the campaign to gain his freedom, will he be on the late late.

Rathkeale Rovers v RTE FC

Hector Bellend

I should have got 18 years for trying to smuggle my massive horn into any country

McMurphy

Anyone that aides and abetted the slaughtering of an endangered species deserves to get the book thrown at them.

No sympathy for him.

Fr_Dougal

He wasn’t smuggling rhino horns.

He was on his holidays, about to go to the cinema when he caught caught up in a peaceful protest by the rhinos. Those horns were just resting in his suitcase.

Hitman3000

I hope he is introduced to a horn from a different species during his incarceration.

Red_Wake

Don't think he's Islamic enough for his crimes to be overlooked in this country tbf.

biko

Toss him in the swamps

circadian

Hector Bellend wrote: »

I should have got 18 years for trying to smuggle my massive horn into any country

Can't think of any countries that won't let you bring a trombone.

DanMurphy

'Man with Limerick links' as described by the Limerick Leader (he'd be described as a stalwart Limerick native if he'd actually WON something)
Seems it was a small cup made from Rhino Horn.

'I mean, 'tis only an aul Holy Grail... I found it under a holy stump back in the auld country boss!'

Jeez, even an Egyptian Court would believe that yarn!

When does the hunger strike start?

The_Valeyard

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

He wasn’t smuggling rhino horns.

He was on his holidays, about to go to the cinema when he caught caught up in a peaceful protest by the rhinos. Those horns were just resting in his suitcase.

Rhino ate his passport.

Mutant z

The rhino is an endangered species which needs all the protection it can get good to see the law being enforced.

branie2

throw away the key

badboyblast

Generators are a gateway to rhino horns, ban all sales of generators

B.A._Baracus

Don't people grind rhino horn and sort to... Ironically get the horn?

DEFTLEFTHAND

Mutant z wrote: »

The rhino is an endangered species which needs all the protection it can get good to see the law being enforced.

Yes, The Rhino family are in genuine trouble.

The Western Black Rhino has already been lost, declared extinct in 2011, poached out of existence .


While the Eastern Black is on the crtically endangered list and expected to go in the next decade.

washman3

PantsBliz wrote: »

Of the famous Rathkeale Rovers, Michael Hegarty has been wanted by the FBI for years.
He's been sentenced to 18 months in a Florida prison for trafficking a rhino horn.

Tom Humphries must be thanking his lucky stars he wasn't tried in Florida....

Effects

Hector Bellend wrote: »

I should have got 18 years for trying to smuggle my massive horn into any country

Why, are you a paedo or something?

harry Bailey esq

Hector Bellend wrote: »

I should have got 18 years for trying to smuggle my massive horn into any country

Gary Glitter wasn't so lucky.

gozunda

Ah the old Rathkeale Roovers at it again ...

From: [url]
https://amp.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/rathkeale-rovers-gang-members-jailed-over-multimillion-euro-rhino-horn-spree-34597780.html[/url]

 "The conspiracy spanned England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, references were made to France - the Cherbourg visit, Hong Kong and also the United States and Germany, also featured in the evidence the court heard over the three trials."

Quite a bit of travelling there tbh ....

washman3

Has Martin Collins issued a statement yet.?

Synthol

Rick Shaw wrote: »

Anyone that aides and abetted the slaughtering of an endangered species deserves to get the book thrown at them.

No sympathy for him.

And no sympathy for you for eating meat, but I guess it's ok to directly support the suffering and death of animals as long as they are not endangered.

baaba maal

Synthol wrote: »

And no sympathy for you for eating meat, but I guess it's ok to directly support the suffering and death of animals as long as they are not endangered.

That escalated quickly.

Hitman3000

Synthol wrote:

And no sympathy for you for eating meat, but I guess it's ok to directly support the suffering and death of animals as long as they are not endangered.

You use nothing derived from animals I take it?

BorneTobyWilde

He was caught red handed with a raging horn.

MadYaker

Good. They should have shoved one of them all the way up his arse.

Synthol

Hitman3000 wrote: »

You use nothing derived from animals I take it?

Intentionally? No. If some piece of string is has a piece of wool then yes but that is not direct support of slaughter. When you eat meat you know that you are directly supporting the suffering and death of animals because animals need to be slaughtered to obtain meat, veganism is doing reasonable and easy to follow steps not some ridiculous impossible to follow principle.

Del.Monte

Synthol wrote: »

Intentionally? No. If some piece of string is has a piece of wool then yes but that is not direct support of slaughter. When you eat meat you know that you are directly supporting the suffering and death of animals because animals need to be slaughtered to obtain meat, veganism is doing reasonable and easy to follow steps not some ridiculous impossible to follow principle.

I think you're flogging a dead horse with that one.

Hitman3000

Synthol wrote:

Intentionally? No. If some piece of string is has a piece of wool then yes but that is not direct support of slaughter. When you eat meat you know that you are directly supporting the suffering and death of animals because animals need to be slaughtered to obtain meat, veganism is doing reasonable and easy to follow steps not some ridiculous impossible to follow principle.

Plastic bags, perfume cologne, tooth paste, confectionery, shampoo conditioner. Lot of stuff to give up if you wish avoid animal products . Probably even animal by products in the device you are using to post your comments with. Ah vegans if ever a group of people could do with a Big Mac and fries it's them.

tomwaterford

Synthol wrote: »

Intentionally? No. If some piece of string is has a piece of wool then yes but that is not direct support of slaughter. When you eat meat you know that you are directly supporting the suffering and death of animals because animals need to be slaughtered to obtain meat, veganism is doing reasonable and easy to follow steps not some ridiculous impossible to follow principle.

You don't have to kill sheep to get wool off them??



But you are correct to point to the cruelty and wrongness of what happens at slaughtering plants

wakka12

Should have got much longer

backspin.

These are precious endangered species id like to see him locked up for life.

gozunda

Synthol wrote: »

Intentionally? No. If some piece of string is has a piece of wool then yes but that is not direct support of slaughter. When you eat meat you know that you are directly supporting the suffering and death of animals because animals need to be slaughtered to obtain meat, veganism is doing reasonable and easy to follow steps not some ridiculous impossible to follow principle.

Congrats on the vegan highjack of the thread. I've no problem with anyone who choses not to eat meat but I can't stand the overwhelming stench of sanctimony from the preaching ...

Animals have been eating other animals since the first unicellular organism flagilated itself across its pond of primordial ooze to predate on whatever was looking tasty. Humans are animals as well and no matter what rubbish we may believe we are not separate from nature. Wild animals experience and partake in what you refer to as "suffering" and death of animals because other animals also kill each other to obtain nutrients and energy.

Animals eat other animals as part of nature's inherent entropy where nutrients are recycled by one species eating another. We may have invented the atom bomb and the combustion engine we remain biologically the same as other animal species.

Zaph

Considering the ridiculously over the top jail sentences some people receive in America for what many would consider "lesser" crimes, 18 months seems unduly lenient. One of the articles in the OP states that this is the second time in 6 years he was on trial for the same thing. 18 years would have been a more fitting sentence and a proper deterrent to others who might have been thinking of getting involved in such an appalling trade.

andekwarhola

Hitman3000 wrote: »

You use nothing derived from animals I take it?

He definitely seems to use a lot of bovine byproduct, such as bullsh1t..

Ralf and Florian

This would fit in well in the great/dumb facebook posts thread.

https://www.facebook.com/joe.moore.940/posts/1708249682527022

Synthol

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Plastic bags, perfume cologne, tooth paste, confectionery, shampoo conditioner. Lot of stuff to give up if you wish avoid animal products . Probably even animal by products in the device you are using to post your comments with. Ah vegans if ever a group of people could do with a Big Mac and fries it's them.

I don't use the things you mention. I do everything that is reasonable and possible to avoid using any products with any relation to animals.

Synthol

gozunda wrote: »

Congrats on the vegan highjack of the thread. I've no problem with anyone who choses not to eat meat but I can't stand the overwhelming stench of sanctimony from the preaching ...

Animals have been eating other animals since the first unicellular organism flagilated itself across its pond of primordial ooze to predate on whatever was looking tasty. Humans are animals as well and no matter what rubbish we may believe we are not separate from nature. Wild animals experience and partake in what you refer to as "suffering" and death of animals because other animals also kill each other to obtain nutrients and energy.

Animals eat other animals as part of nature's inherent entropy where nutrients are recycled by one species eating another. We may have invented the atom bomb and the combustion engine we remain biologically the same as other animal species.

Yeah but human overpopulation is not natural. I agree that humans are animals but they have no right to overpopulate the world and destroy everything in nature.

Synthol

andekwarhola wrote: »

He definitely seems to use a lot of bovine byproduct, such as bullsh1t..

When you realise that you have lost an argument, you resort to insults.

darkdubh

CAB should be hitting these ****ers big time.

Zaph

Zaph wrote: »

Considering the ridiculously over the top jail sentences some people receive in America for what many would consider "lesser" crimes, 18 months seems unduly lenient. One of the articles in the OP states that this is the second time in 6 years he was on trial for the same thing. 18 years would have been a more fitting sentence and a proper deterrent to others who might have been thinking of getting involved in such an appalling trade.

18 years?

Ah seriously...come off it.

gozunda

Synthol wrote: »

Yeah but human overpopulation is not natural. I agree that humans are animals but they have no right to overpopulate the world and destroy everything in nature.

Yeah well tell prople to stop breeding then. We remain the dominant species. Dinosaurs were before they were wiped out. We are already past the point of return as to excessive population. Whether we live in tents and chew twigs it's not going to make any significant difference at this stage. When we go the same way - the earth will happily carry on. In the meantime I'm happy for scrotes to be prosecuted for being scrotes and to try and protect species in danger of extinction. Their descendants might do a better job than we have. :pac:

darkdubh

Ralf and Florian wrote: »

This would fit in well in the great/dumb facebook posts thread.

https://www.facebook.com/joe.moore.940/posts/1708249682527022

Lol, comparing Rathkeale travellers to the Black Panthers.

Zaph

[Deleted User] wrote: »

18 years?

Ah seriously...come off it.

Well what do you think is an appropriate sentence for someone involved in endangering the survival of an entire species?

Synthol

Zaph wrote: »

Well what do you think is an appropriate sentence for someone involved in endangering the survival of an entire species?

I think prison sentence is a good idea for eating any kind of meat, off to the jail Mr. Zaph.

gozunda

Synthol wrote: »

I think prison sentence is a good idea for eating any kind of meat, off to the jail Mr. Zaph.

Well you better start locking up all meat eating predators including wolves, foxes, cayotes, lions, killer whales etc etc - you're going to require a pretty big enclosure ...

Rory28

Synthol wrote: »

I think prison sentence is a good idea for eating any kind of meat, off to the jail Mr. Zaph.

This is why nobody takes vegans seriously. I'm all for protecting animals and preventing cruelty but the way you go about it is ridiculous.

Shurimgreat

Just another example of their wonderful culture being spread around the world.

Surely up there with Joyce, Beckett and Yeats at this stage.

Esel

Eating meat - it's our culture.

Hitman3000

Synthol wrote:

I think prison sentence is a good idea for eating any kind of meat, off to the jail Mr. Zaph.

'Sometimes it is better to have people think you a fool, than open ones mouth and remove all doubt'.

Don't know whom to attribute that to but it seems quite an apt response.