A member of a shadowy band of of Irish nomads was busted at a Newark Liberty Airport last week for trading in illegal rhinoceros horns for big bucks, prosecutors said in Brooklyn federal court Wednesday.
Michael Slattery, 25, an Irish national, allegedly purchased the horns of the endangered species in Texas and sold them off for $50,000 to unidentified buyers in New York, officials said.
Slattery is a member of the increasingly notorious Rathkeale Rovers, a group of Irishmen who authorities said travel the world to conduct their illegal activities.
Slattery appeared in court Wednesday after his brother, sister and mother all flew in from Ireland to offer their support.
But prosecutors successfully lobbied to have him held without bail because of his international ties and links to the shadowy group.
According to Eurpopean law enforcement officials, the  Rovers profile has been raised in recent years after a series of brazen raids on museums where rhino horns were stolen and then later sold.
Slattery used a day laborer to purchase a set of horns in Austin to shield him from detection and then traveled to New York in 2010 to sell off his goods, according to prosecutors.
“The majestic black rhinoceros is protected under the laws of this country and the international community – we stand by our obligations to defend these precious animals,” said U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch in a statement.
The rhinoceros population has declined by nearly 90 percent since 1970, according to the criminal complaint against Slattery.