Northamptonshire businessman dubbed ‘Dr T&T’ flogged illegal impotence remedies on eBay from home

Lei Zheng traded in ‘traditional’ Chinese medicines made from pangolin scales, dead seahorses and rare orchids
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An alert Northamptonshire Police officer trawling eBay spotted a Chinese businessman flogging pangolin scales and illegal impotence remedies made from dead seahorses.

Northampton Crown Court heard how Lei Zheng used the alias Dr T&T to flog more than 30,000 medicinal remedies from his home in the county to customers around the world on eBay and Amazon.

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But rural crime officer PC Chloe Gillies became suspicious after spotting the items online and tracked them down to the 54-year-old’s home.

Lei Zheng at Northampton Crown Court.Lei Zheng at Northampton Crown Court.
Lei Zheng at Northampton Crown Court.

Officers discovered Zheng was selling remedies made from pangolin scales, rare orchids, seahorses and valuable deer musk.

He admitted seven charges of being involved in selling endangered species and sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 21 months, and ordered to do 120 hours unpaid work.

Judge David Herbert said: “You were running a busy business and you should have been aware of the status of these items.”

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The court heard Zheng had been trading since 2010 with more than 30,000 sales on his eBay page.

But in 2018, PC Gillies spotted ‘100 percent deer musk’ selling at £69.97.

Deer musk, which is more expensive than gold, is taken from the glands of killed male deer and is said to be a cure for ailments of the heart and chest in traditional Chinese medicine.

Raids were carried out on Zheng’s properties at Holkham Close and Epsom Walk, Corby. Numerous items were found at Epsom Walk, which had been set out like a shop.

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Officers found costas root, which is a critically endangered herb that grows in the Himalayas and is used to treat worm infections.

Pangolin scales from the critically endangered scaly anteater were also found. The ground-up scales are said to cure cancer and asthma.

Zheng was also selling rare orchids, which are said to boost male fertility, and bags of dried seahorses which are believed to improve impotence.

Simon Hunka, defending, told the court Zheng, who moved to the UK 20 years ago, is a family man with a son in law school.

Mr Hunka added: “He is truly remorseful for his actions.

“It's been hanging over him for five years. He's a worrier by nature and he's been concerned as to what might happen.”