Art dealer's case continues 4 years later

MEDINA, Ohio, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- A Canadian art dealer is in a jail cell in the United States for allegedly trafficking in ivory tusks taken from endangered African elephants.

Tania Siyam was indicted in U.S. District Court in Cleveland in 2004 after allegedly shipping more than 125 pounds of ivory to an Elyria, Ohio, artisan who was secretly working as an informant for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported.

The case against Siyam, who is jailed in Medina, Ohio, has been delayed for years because she challenged extradition. Canadian officials finally turned her over to the U.S. Marshal's Service in Cleveland last month.

"We're very satisfied with the Canadian court ruling that she be extradited to the United States following the exhaustion of her challenges within their legal system," Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Tripi said.

The allegedly illegal ivory was worth about $169,000, said Dan LeClair, a Fish and Wildlife agent based in Sandusky, Ohio, who investigated Siyam.