A court in Mozambique has sentenced the leader of a poaching gang to 30 years in prison.

Judges in Maputo Province found Admiro Chauque guilty of illegal possession of weapons, and numerous poaching offences in southern Mozambique, as well as in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

He was arrested trying to poach rhinos in May last year.

There is a strong demand for rhino horn in China and Vietnam.

The court also gave a nine-year sentence to a man who was caught laying traps to catch animals in Maputo National Park.

In recent years the judiciary in Mozambique has imposed heavy penalties on poachers and people transporting the protected animals.