'Devil' poacher 'hunted' by Leonardo DiCaprio get 12 years for thousands of elephant deaths

One of Africa's most notorious poachers, known as "Shetani" – which means "the Devil" in Swahili, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in Tanzania.

Boniface Matthew Mariango was the subject of a recent Neflix documentary called The Ivory Game produced by actor and conservationist Leonardo DiCaprio. The poacher was captured in October 2015 after evading arrest several times.

Dubbed the "Queen of Ivory", Mariango is Tanzania's "Most Wanted" elephant poacher and ivory trafficker and is accused of being directly responsible for the killing of thousands of elephants over the past years.

Journalist Dan Ashby, who followed the case in Tanzania's capital, Dodoma, said the poacher was found with 118 tusks worth more than $860,000 (£703,000).

In another Tweet, Ahsby said that because "ivory cases (are) never easy to prosecute", Mariango's conviction in the first of four cases "marks (a) major breakthrough for Tanzania in (its) war on poaching".

The international ivory trade has been largely banned since 1990, but European Union (EU) member states can export raw ivory – whole tusks, ivory chunks or scraps – or worked by carving, polishing or engraving but if only if the ivory was acquired before 1990 and with a certificate. Europe sells more raw and carved ivory to the world than anywhere else.