Ex-actress caught selling rhinoceros horns on WeChat   

A policeman shows products made of endangered animals on Jan 5, 2015. (Photo: Chinanews.com)

(ECNS) - A former actress has been caught for illegally purchasing, transporting and selling products made from endangered animals in Sichuan province, the West China Metropolis Daily reported on Tuesday.

Yang Xiaoxiao (alias) posted an advert selling two heads of the endangered helmeted hornbill bird on her WeChat account on October 21, 2013.

After seeing the post, a friend named Tu Yuechuan (also an alias) bought one head for 9,000 yuan ($1,447).

Over the next four months, Yang made several deals with Tu on products made from ivory or rhinoceros horns.

On Jan 5, 2014, Yang made a profit of 320,000 yuan by selling a bowl and cup made from rhinoceros horn, and an ivory statue of the Buddhist figure Avalokiteśvara for over 810,000 yuan.

The money was paid online via bank transfer in an attempt to keep it secret.

By September 2014, Yang had made a profit of 450,000 yuan on deals worth more than 1.3 million yuan.

Police in Sichuan province caught eleven people, including four buyers and seven middlemen, illegally purchasing, transporting and selling products made from rhinoceros horn, ivory and the heads of helmeted hornbills.

Police confiscated over 1,200 products made from these endangered species, at a valuation of over 3 million yuan.

The purchase and sale of products made from rare and endangered species without permission is illegal in China.