Ivory-trafficking syndicate arrests
Chinese authorities make serious dent in international smuggling ring
THREE men said to be involved in running a major international ivory smuggling syndicate have been caught following action by the China Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau.
The trio were first exposed in the July 2017 report The Shuidong Connection: Exposing the Global Hub of the Illegal Ivory Trade by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).
After almost three years of undercover work, EIA investigators infiltrated one of the leading syndicates based in the obscure Chinese town of Shuidong, said to be a major Chinese hub for poached ivory smuggled from Africa.
The Shuidong Connection identified the three people said to be the main culprits in the syndicate as Wang, Xie and Ou; and the EIA shared its findings with the relevant Chinese government agencies in a confidential briefing before the report’s publication.
Enforcement action based on that intelligence was launched by the local Anti-Smuggling Bureau on July 6, 2017, when about 500 officers raided locations in Shuidong and surrounding areas.
Wang was caught during this raid and jailed for 15 years; Xie was located in Tanzania and voluntarily returned to face trial, at which was jailed for six years.
Chinese authorities have also confirmed that Ou was repatriated from Nigeria to China on January 5 under an Interpol Red Notice. He will now face trial in China.
EIA Campaigns Director Julian Newman said: “We are very pleased to see such robust enforcement action taken by the Chinese authorities in response to the information provided by our investigators.”
“During the investigation, this syndicate had claimed involvement in multiple shipments of illegal ivory from Africa to China, and had been directly involved in the trade for years, so dismantling the operation has put a major dent in global illegal ivory trafficking operations.”
Action by the China Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau based on EIA’s intelligence has now led to the dismantling of two ivory trafficking syndicates spanning Guangdong and Fujian province, in southern China.
By February 2018, 11 suspects had been convicted by the local court, with jail sentences ranging from six to 15 years’ imprisonment.
“EIA applauds this achievement; the Chinese authorities are to be congratulated for their collaborative and co-ordinated approach,” Newman added.
Meanwhile, Environmental Affairs Minister Nomvula Mokonyane has welcomed the recovery of more than 30 pieces of rhino horn at OR Tambo International Airport last Wednesday.
“The discovery and seizure of the rhino horn, estimated to be worth more than R23 million, is a feather in the cap of enforcement agencies working to rid the airport, and our country, of wildlife-related crimes,” Mokonyane said.
Police announced that the seizure was part of an operation into ridding the airport of criminal activities following the recent confiscation of rhino horn originating from southern Africa in the Far East.
“The actions of the multidisciplinary team, comprising members of the police, the Department of Environmental Affairs’ Environmental Management Inspectorate (Green Scorpions), customs and excise, K9 units and ACSA security are to be commended.
“Their successful efforts to rid our ports of entry and exit of wildlife smuggling in particular are an indication of the success of the Integrated Strategic Management of Rhinoceros approach,” Mokonyane said.