Story highlights Yang Feng Glan, 66, has been charged with smuggling at least 706 elephant tusks

She was denied bail at an appearance before Tanzania's High Court on Thursday

She ran a sophisticated ivory supply chain between East Africa and China for about 10 years, Tanzanian authorities say

(CNN) A Chinese woman nicknamed the "Queen of Ivory" has been arrested in Tanzania and charged with smuggling at least 706 elephant tusks that authorities say are worth about $2.5 million.

Yang Feng Glan, 66, is thought to be the most notorious ivory trafficker arrested in East Africa in the last decade. She ran a sophisticated supply chain between East Africa and China for about 10 years, Tanzanian authorities say. Many of her suppliers were also arrested.

"Across Africa, they keep arresting small fish here and there," said Andrea Costa, a spokesman for the Elephant Action League, a nonprofit group that fights crime against wildlife. "They have finally caught a big fish."

Yang Feng Glan

Glan is thought to have come to Tanzania as a Swahili-Chinese translator in 1975, when China began to build a railway in the East African nation, according to Elephant Action League. Tanzanian law enforcement says she began trafficking ivory as far back as 2006.

Described as "extremely wealthy and extremely connected" in China and Tanzania, Glan owned businesses, including a large restaurant, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city, and she was even serving as the secretary general of the Tanzania-China Africa Business Council.

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