A smuggler has been fined $12,000 for illegally importing elephant ivory - in the first New Zealand conviction of its kind.



Auckland man Jiezhen Jiang was sentenced in the Manukau District Court today on eight charges of trading in an endangered species without an appropriate permit.



Items including carved elephant tusks, a statue and a letter-opener were seized from the 57-year-old retiree’s Mellons Bay home after customs intercepted a parcel of ivory addressed to Jiang last year.



In court, Jiang’s lawyer attempted to argue he didn’t know the items were ivory and that they were for a private collection, not for commercial trade.



However the Crown argued that Jiang had upped the price on one item by around $12,000, so he must have known its value.



He was also a prolific trader, buying 299 items such as china and silverware worth $180,000 over ten months to September 2011. At least one piece of ivory was on-sold to China.



When interviewed, Jiang admitted he knew elephants were endangered and said he bought the ivory as both art and as an investment because it might not be around much longer.



Commercial trading in ivory is illegal. It was banned globally in 1989 because African and Asian elephants are an endangered species at high risk of extinction.



In sentencing Jiang, Judge Jonathan Moses described the illegal trade in ivory as a “serious issue” that threatened the survival of elephants in the wild.



He fined Jiang $1500 on each of the eight charges making a total fine of $12,000. Jiang was also ordered to pay court costs of $132.81.



Dylan Swain, senior investigator with the Department of Conservation, said it was first time someone has been prosecuted, convicted and sentenced for illegally importing ivory into New Zealand.



“We’re pleased with the outcome of this case. It sends a strong signal that anyone attempting to illegally import ivory, or any other endangered wildlife specimens, into New Zealand, will be taken to court,” Swain said.



In the past five years, ivory smuggling has surged dramatically. According to seizure figures, 2012 was the worst year for global ivory smuggling since records began, with more than 34 tonnes of illegal material seized, up from 24 tonnes last year.



It is believed that at least 5000 and up to 50,000 elephants are being killed each year, with Africa in the midst of an epic slaughter, according to conservation groups.



Swain said it was important for New Zealand to come down hard on offenders like Jiang.



“New Zealand needs international support protecting our endangered species from being exploited. So we have a responsibility to help protect threatened wildlife in other countries such as elephants,” Swain said.