TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Yang Feng Glan, one of Tanzania’s most notorious ivory-trafficking criminals, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

CNN reports the network was told by Tanzanian authorities that Yang was charged on Tuesday, along with two accomplices, for smuggling 860 elephant tusks that equate to a value of US$6.45 million.

The Chinese national, nicknamed the “Ivory Queen,” was slapped with an additional two years in jail under Tanzania’s Wildlife Protection act. The supplementary sentence can be converted to a fine of double the value of the smuggled ivory, or US$1.29 million dollars, CNN reports.

Yang was arrested back in 2015 and accused of running a “sophisticated supply chain” via her connections to the upper echelons of society in both Tanzania and China. CNN writes she is thought to have first arrived in Tanzania as a translator, but became involved in trafficking in 2006 after establishing an abundance of elite connections.

The case saw three years of delays but came to a close Tuesday, concluding with “one of the harshest sentences ever handed” to a Chinese national running in the country’s elite circles. Since the country established a poaching task force, clampdowns have destroyed multiple rings and resulted in extremely harsh sentences for leaders, reports CNN.

China implemented a full ban on commercial ivory sales in early 2018, although the precious material can still be bought at antique auction markets.

Conservation NGO World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) reports a visit to several of these auctions in 2018 revealed many had not obtained administrative approval and were thus operating illegally—a practice that could still encourage the continuation of the ivory trade. China needs to work harder on executing the ban practically and enforcing relevant laws, the organization suggests.

Ivory is popular in China for its ornamental qualities and apparent healing properties in traditional Chinese medicine. It is seen as both a status symbol when used in jewelry and other trinkets, and a prized miracle ingredient that can help cure a number of medical conditions.

Taiwan announced a ban on the sale of ivory in 2018, which will come into effect next year.