Irishman jailed for rhinoceros horn trafficking

An Irishman has been jailed for a year after pleading guilty in Texas to trafficking rhinoceros horns.

Patrick Sheridan was arrested in January 2015 in Holyhead, north Wales, after being charged in May 2014 in the city of Waco.

He was accused of trafficking the horns of the critically endangered black rhinoceros, buying two horns from a Texas taxidermist and selling them in New York along with two others also illegally purchased in Texas.

Co-defendant Michael Slattery Jr pleaded guilty in Brooklyn, New York, to his role in the scheme and was sentenced to 14 months in prison.