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The man has been jailed for 18 months. Shutterstock/visa netpakdee

Irish man from 'Rathkeale Rovers' smuggling gang jailed in Miami for trafficking a rhino horn

Michael Hegarty was arrested in Belgium following an international arrest warrant.

AN IRISH MAN who was connected to US smuggling syndicate ‘the Rathkeale Rovers’ has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for trafficking a rhino horn.

Michael Hegarty was handed the prison sentence in a court in Miami, Florida and he will also be subjected to three years of supervised release after he leaves prison.

The rhino horn had been carved into the shape of an elaborate drinking vessel, described in court documents as a libation cup.

In May 2014, Hegarty was indicted with charges of conspiring to traffic a libation cup made from an endangered rhinoceros. He was also charged with attempting to smuggle the rhino horn from the US to the UK.

The US Department of Justice said that Hegarty and co-defendant Richard Sheridan purchased the libation cup from an auction house in North Carolina.

They then transported the cup to Florida and falsified documentation to smuggle the cup from the United States.

Hegarty was caught in January of this year in Belgium after US authorities issued an international arrest warrant through Interpol.

Ed Grace of the US Fish and Wildlife Service says the imprisonment of Hegarty is “a message” to would-be smugglers.

“Today’s sentencing sends a message to those who profit from the slaughter and illicit trade of wildlife, you will be caught and prosecuted no matter where you hide,” Grace said.

“I commend our special agents who connected this defendant to the Rathkeale Rovers, a transnational organised crime syndicate responsible for trafficking endangered rhinoceros products worldwide,” he added.

The conviction came as part of Operation Crash, an enforcement operation in the US designed to crack down on the sale and trafficking of rhino horn.

Read: Man caught at Sri Lankan airport with a kilogramme of gold hidden in his rectum >

Read: Californian man accused of smuggling 3 king cobras in crisp cans >

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    Mute fiachra29
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:03 AM

    Ah shur boss we’re big into our culture and our unique way of life, we’ve brought it round the world with us.

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    Mute joe oneill
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:07 AM

    He will get plenty of horn now.

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    Mute Noel James Doherty
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:09 AM

    @joe oneill: cracking

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    Mute Con O Callaghan
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    Nov 15th 2017, 3:48 PM

    @joe oneill: joe won the internet today

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    Mute Minom Pnom
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:51 AM

    Sure is our culture hunting rhionos on the limerick Savannahs for thousands of years with slash hooks.

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    Mute Minom Pnom
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    Nov 15th 2017, 2:08 PM

    @Minom Pnom: The most shocking thing about this article is that he purchased the rhino cup.

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    Mute ginger tomatoes i9
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:29 AM

    Am I only one thinks 18 mths sounds low

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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:57 AM

    @ginger tomatoes i9: way too low.

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    Mute ktsiwot
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:59 AM

    @ginger tomatoes i9: He would get of free here, so it is 18 months higher than an Irish sentence.

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    Mute John Mc Donagh
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    Nov 15th 2017, 10:33 AM

    @ginger tomatoes i9: Ah sure boss, there’s always a special deal for the ethnic minority.

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    Mute mcgoo
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:02 AM

    Martin O’Neill should have started a few of the Rovers last night maybe given their vast international experience.

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    Mute DubKid
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:01 AM

    The homies in the state penitentiary will enjoy a bit of fresh Irish meat

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    Mute Lager Lout
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    Nov 15th 2017, 12:54 PM

    @DubKid:
    There’s nothing fresh about a Rathkeale pikey
    They are a foul species

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    Mute Kevin Moylan
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:53 AM

    He was caught in the wrong country. Would have got suspended sentence here

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    Mute Ronan Sexton
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    Nov 15th 2017, 10:28 AM

    Trying to supervise that yoke when he gets out will be some laugh. Hide and Seek world champion 2019.

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    Mute Misanthrope
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    Nov 15th 2017, 1:59 PM

    Any comments from pave point?

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    Mute Paul Freeman
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    Nov 15th 2017, 11:10 AM

    He can clean out the gutters while he is inside.

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    Mute winston smith
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    Nov 15th 2017, 10:06 AM

    Keep the bast*rd over there permanently.

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    Mute John Adams
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    Nov 15th 2017, 12:39 PM

    Why Am I not surprised, from Australia to the The USA they roam dragging Ireland’s name through the muck.

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    Mute Brian O Reilly
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:11 AM

    He will do hard time in that penal system .but the expressed hope that he will be subjected to rape is unworthy.

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    Mute Frank Dowling
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:22 AM

    @Brian O Reilly: sure it is.. spare a thought for the would be rapists

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    Mute gerry fallon
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    Nov 15th 2017, 2:57 PM

    He filled it up with hewya boss after shave!

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    Mute Declan Mannix
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    Nov 15th 2017, 3:04 PM

    His as*hole will be wider than a libation cup when he come out.

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    Mute James Wond
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    Nov 15th 2017, 8:35 PM

    Discrimination

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