Chinese national gets 9-year prison term in Ethiopia for smuggling telecom device: Report

Addis Ababa [Ethiopia], March 16 (ANI): A court in Ethiopia has sentenced a Chinese national to nine years in jail for reportedly trying to smuggle highly censored communication gear into the country, local media reported citing the country's ministry of justice on Wednesday.
In a statement, Lee Nayong, the Chinese national the ministry referred to as "a foreign national" was arrested at Bole International Airport last year and was arranged in court in Addis Ababa where he was given the legal opportunity to defend himself but failed to do so, Sudans Post reported.
"A foreigner who smuggled a telecom device into Ethiopia for telecom fraud was sentenced to a 9-year prison term and fine," the ministry said, adding that the suspect "was charged with violating the provisions of Article 3 (1) of the Proclamation No. 761/2004 on the Elimination of Telecom Fraud.
Sudans Post also reported that the Chinese national had "entered the Bole International Airport in Ethiopia without the permission of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (and) imported two 8-SIM and 16-SIM cards gateway device for telecom fraud." (ANI)