WILDLIFE CRIME/TRADE/BREEDING

[Lisbeth]

How we (almost) became reptile smugglers

30.07.2019

Cyberspace provides an anonymous, versatile marketplace for illegal wildlife trade. Rudi Bressa investigates how easy it is to set up illicit deals from Italy.


Facebook feed: Once a post advertising reptiles such as this morph ball python is deleted, it’s gone, and as soon as the transaction has taken place, a seller will delete the post. Photo supplied

The internet is flourishing with websites, forums and groups where anyone can discuss and exchange information about the care of reptiles, and where it isn’t rare to find experts who turn their hobby into a moneymaker.

How is the global reptile market regulated? Is the internet facilitating illicit financial flows? The answer, according to our investigation, is affirmative.

Although most e-commerce platforms have banned the sale of wildlife commodities and specimens protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), it’s still easy to find almost anything. There’s no need to sink into the depths of the darknet, just take a look at the most famous social networks.

There are many ways to remain anonymous online. On Facebook, it is almost impossible to trace a specific post that shows up on your feed (unless you take a screenshot). Once a post is deleted, it’s gone, and as soon as the transaction has taken place, a seller will delete the post.

In closed groups on Facebook, it isn’t hard to find and buy specimens that can be traded with only a certificate attesting to their origin – though the platform’s Marketplace states that it is forbidden to sell and buy animals of any kind.

It’s easy to join these closed groups on Facebook, you don’t need to take any special steps. The groups’ names are often obvious, such as “Reptiles for sale in Europe”, while others have an ambiguous meaning – especially if you are communicating in Chinese or German, two of the most active markets internationally.

Once joined, the feed is constantly updated and most of the posts are sales announcements, with a price list and the scientific name of the species. Many of the traders seem to be regular breeders who openly declare the CITES origin of the reptile.


Whatsapp wrangle: This seller offers a wide selection of venomous snakes that are strictly forbidden in some countries, including Italy. Photo supplied

First online meeting

While monitoring the feed of one such closed group, we find a way to contact a seller based in Egypt. Our first contact takes place via email, showing interest in his commodities.

The seller sends an updated list with the scientific names of the reptiles, translated into English. Each species has a price, ranging from $3 for insects and snakes of little value up to $400 for an African spurred tortoise (Geochelone sulcata).

The seller also offers a wide selection of venomous snakes that are strictly forbidden in some countries, including Italy, such as the Egyptian cobra (Naje haje) and a Palestine saw-scaled viper (Echis coloratus), a venomous viper species endemic to the Middle East and Egypt. There is no shortage of Uromastix lizards and turtles, all species included on Appendix II of CITES – meaning they are species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but which could be so unless trade is strictly controlled.

We ask where the reptiles come from. “They are all captured in the wild,” says the seller via email. In response to our scepticism, the seller writes, “Don’t worry, we operated in this market for over 20 years”, and still have many “customers in Europe and Asia”.

The conversation moves to Whatsapp, where we ask how the reptiles will be transported. “What about smuggling [them]?” responds the seller.

He asks us to place a US$3,000 minimum order, with an advance payment of 70% plus shipment costs. Delivery will take place by plane, he says, and the money transfer must take place through Western Union, an online payment method that would be difficult to trace.

The conversation ends after he asks if we have a licence to import reptiles to Italy. Because we have no intention of going through with the deal, we stop the communications and pass them on to a wildlife law enforcement contact in Italy, who confirms that the “seller could be dedicated to smuggling” and that the information will be passed on to relevant authorities.


Wholesale market: This seller in West Africa sends a shopping list that includes a wide range of mammals, birds, insects, amphibians, reptiles – hundreds of specimens. Photo supplied

African trader

A few weeks before the most awaited gathering in Europe of reptile traders, the Terraristika fair in Hamm, Germany, online posts and offers are increasing and the feed is constantly updated.

It’s in one of these posts that we meet a seller based in Togo, West Africa. Looking at his posts and pictures, it seems he has been working the market for a long time.

First contact is made via email: he sends a shopping list that includes a wide range of mammals, birds, insects, amphibians, reptiles – hundreds of specimens.

The seller explains that he “often sends goods to European countries”, and says “we have many customers all over the world. Many of them come from Asians [sic]. Obviously we have some in Germany and Italy.”

We ask where the reptiles come from. “Some are captured in the wild, others bred in captivity,” he replies.

The “shopping list” he sends includes protected species, such as royal pythons (Python regius), Calabar pythons (Calabria reinhardtii) and African rock pythons (Python sebae), at a cost of $30 each. There is also a wide range of tortoises.

We ask if the animals are all provided with documents and with CITES certificates. “Certainly, everything is done according to the laws,” he says.

Transport will be by airplane, at our expense, while payment must be made by bank transfer. He says sending the animals to Hong Kong can be arranged, but not to mainland China. It is not easy to do these type of transactions in Thailand these days, he adds.

Although he sends a CITES permit provided in Hong Kong to prove the legitimacy of his operation, he also says many of the animals are “caught in the bush” – indicating they are not captive-bred.

Once again, we end the communications and pass them on to a wildlife law enforcement contact.

This investigation is part of a transnational series investigating how online illegal wildlife trade facilitates illicit financial flow, produced with the support of the Money Trail project.


Rudi Bressa is an Italian freelance journalist and contributing author who writes about nature, conservation, climate change, energy transition and sustainable development. He has published several stories about poaching in Italy and contributes to LaStampa, LifeGate, Renewable Matter and other media.

[Alf]

Very sad that it's so easy

[Flutterby]

[Lisbeth]

China is proving key to reducing Africa’s wildlife trafficking

By Deo Gumba and Richard Chelin for ISS TODAY• 19 August 2019


File Photo: A pile of elephant tusks is set ablaze by Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki at Tsavo West National Park in Kenya, 20 July 2011. Kenya Wildlife..........

West and Central Africa can learn from successes in East and Southern Africa on illicit wildlife trade.

China’s proactive stance against illicit wildlife trafficking in Africa in recent years has helped shift trends in this crime. Where co-operation has occurred with certain African countries, wildlife smuggling has moved to other parts of the continent. This shows that tougher measures are working – and African countries with high rates of trafficking should follow suit.

Africa presents enormous potential for China’s Belt and Road Initiative. It is a vital source of raw materials for the Chinese manufacturing industry and a market for its imports. The reputational risks posed by poaching by a few Chinese nationals in Africa are enormous for a country keen to maintain and extend its economic dominance in the world.

Since 2017, China has closed its domestic ivory market and banned commercial processing of rhino horns and tiger bones. It has tightened legislation on trade in endangered fauna and flora. The country has “provided funds, equipment, manpower and technology to support African countries in the conservation of endangered species and habitats,” says Peng Youdong, leader of the Chinese campaign.

Some Chinese nationals continue to smuggle endangered species and lesser-known plant and animal products. The recent sentencing in Tanzania of Yang Feng Glan to 15 years in prison for ivory smuggling demonstrates the need for such campaigns.

Other Chinese nationals have also been arrested in international law enforcement operations. In July 2018, the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) disrupted a major criminal supply chain led by a Chinese national. The task force is an inter-governmental organisation that facilitates collaboration among states that have signed the Lusaka Agreement. It investigates violations of national laws pertaining to illegal trade in wild fauna and flora.

Investigations showed the criminal network was smuggling tons of elephant tusks and pangolin scales from Africa to Asia. “This is one of several supply chains powered by Chinese, Vietnamese and West African organised crime networks,” LAFT director Edward Phiri told Enact.

He said the predominant route of the supply chain – Brazzaville to Lagos, Nigeria, via Cameroon’s Douala port – shows that Central and West African countries now provide important transit points. This signals a recent shift by criminal networks from East and Southern Africa. For years these two regions grabbed international attention for rhino horn and ivory trafficking.

In the 2000s, South African ports were the largest conduits for ivory trafficking on the continent. Between 2009 and 2012, enhanced South African law enforcement efforts drove criminal networks to East Africa. International co-operation was key, especially following a memorandum of understanding between South Africa and China in 2013.

That same year, large ivory seizures were recorded in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. For the first time, the seizures exceeded those in Asia, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

This marked a shift in ivory trafficking through Kenya and Tanzania, which became the new leading hubs for trafficking ivory out of Africa. The two countries have since 2014 fostered co-operation with China, which has extended to them millions of dollars in support of conservation. Uganda, however, remains a major transit point to Central and West Africa.

According to the OECD report, Nigerian, Togolese and Cameroonian ports have emerged as new hubs in the illicit ivory trade. East and Southern Africa remain convenient for sourcing wildlife products illegally, and transporting them to Central and West Africa is viable. “The networks operate collection centres in several countries. They accumulate the contraband before finally shipping it to Asia, especially China,” says Phiri.

Taye Teferi, Africa policy and partnership co-ordinator of the wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic, told Enact that co-operation between African countries and China provide a strong deterrence for kingpins or ringleaders. This is mainly due to the fear of extradition to China, where culprits could face stiffer penalties and even the death penalty.

China’s Wildlife Protection Law took effect on 1 January 2017 after amendments that aligned it with the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites). Article 27 prohibits the sale, purchase or use of rare or almost-extinct wild species, and their products that are under special national protection. China’s new awareness campaign and legislative changes demonstrate political will to combat wildlife crime and promote the conservation of endangered species.

Now Central and West Africa need to move fast to block the networks of wildlife criminals who are rapidly infiltrating these regions. A Cites report on elephant poaching shows increasing pressure on elephant numbers in Central and West Africa compared to Southern and East Africa.

Traffic has documented that ivory sold in Nigeria comes from Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon, with Cameroon playing a pivotal role in the smuggling networks.

Regional blocs and countries should urgently replicate the same measures that helped to mitigate these threats in Southern and East Africa. Cameroon and Nigeria should co-operate with China to exchange intelligence information on criminal networks.

This can also be done through multilateral agreements between China and the African Union or various regional economic communities in Central and West Africa. The Forum on China-Africa Co-operation is one platform where African heads of state can enhance law enforcement co-operation to combat the illicit wildlife trade.

Once Africa has bolstered itself against wildlife criminals across all regions through successful co-operation with China, the same model can be applied to other markets in Asia. Japan, for example, is another major market for wildlife products, as are other minor Asian destinations such as Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. DM

Deo Gumba is regional co-ordinator – East and Horn of Africa, and Richard Chelin, researcher, Southern Africa, Enact, ISS

[Klipspringer]

Here is an interesting article on China's tiger farming and the origins of TCM.

But lots of speculation there, IMO


https://www.iamatigeradvocate.org/tiger ... dqDc-RhasM

[Lisbeth]

Suspects to appear for possession, dealing or handling of game unlawfully poached

#EnviroCrimes

NELSPRUIT - Three men aged between 31 and 44, are expected to appear before the Graskop Magistrate's Court tomorrow, for possession, dealing or handling of game suspected to have been unlawfully hunted or poached.



Their appearance comes after they were arrested in the early hours of Friday, 16 August 2019, along the R532 road between Graskop and Bushbuckridge. On that morning, security guards were patrolling around the timber plantation in that area when they spotted a white bakkie loaded with what looked like dead animals. They(security guards) immediately called the police and upon arrival, the guards together with the police officers pursued and apprehended the suspects.

They (suspects) were found in possession of a 0.22 rifle, 144 live ammunition, a spotlight, 01 magazine and 17 dead wild animals that included an African Civet cat, 4 bushbucks, 1 common mountain bushbuck and 11 grey duikers.

All role players were summoned to the scene including officials from the Mpumalanga Parks Board Agency and the suspects were charged in terms of Section 10 of 1998 of the Mpumalanga Nature Conservation Act . The animals are suspected to have been poached around the Sudwala/ Lydenburg area.

[Richprins]

[Lisbeth]

Malawi sentences pangolin smugglers, cracks down on wildlife crime

by Mongabay.com on 10 September 2019

- Two Malawian nationals arrested in May and suspected of being part of one of Africa’s largest transnational wildlife trafficking syndicates have now been sentenced to three years in prison by a Malawian court.

- The suspected kingpin of the trafficking network, a Chinese national named Yunhua Lin, was arrested in August this year following a three-month manhunt and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 11.

- Lin’s wife, Qin Hua Zhang, and eight others who had been arrested during the May raids are due in court on Sept. 12, and further hearings have been scheduled throughout the month.

In May this year, following multiple joint operations by the Malawi Police Service and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, three Malawian and nine Chinese nationals were arrested in connection with a variety of wildlife crimes. The suspects were charged with offenses including the illegal possession of protected species and their parts, such as live pangolins, pangolin scales, rhino horn, elephant ivory, hippo ivory, multiple protected reptile species, and hardwood timber.

Two of the arrested Malawian nationals, Jimmy Mkwelezalemba, 38, and Julius Sanudia, 36, have now been sentenced to three years in prison by a court in Lilongwe, the capital. They were convicted for the possession and smuggling of pangolins. Both men are thought to be part of one of Africa’s largest transnational wildlife trafficking syndicates.

The suspected kingpin of the trafficking network, a Chinese national named Yunhua Lin, was also arrested in August this year, following a three-month joint manhunt by the Malawi Police Service and the Department of Parks and Wildlife. He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 11.

Lin, 46, who has reportedly been linked to a range of wildlife crimes including the possession and smuggling of processed elephant ivory, 103 pieces of rhino horns, two hippo teeth, 556 pangolin scales and three live pangolins, had been on the run following the arrests in May that included his wife, Qin Hua Zhang.

Zhang and eight others with connections to the syndicate are due in court Sept. 12. Further hearings have been scheduled throughout the month.

“I am delighted to see the Malawian Government making every effort to bring to justice those responsible for trafficking illegal wildlife goods,” Mary Rice, executive director of the Environmental Investigation Agency, said in a statement. “This evil trade drives poaching across Africa, creating a market for banned products. Every gram of rhino horn or shipment of ivory brings us one step closer to wildlife extinction.”


Jimmy Mkwelezalemba, left who was convicted on Sept. 9, poses for a photo with suspect Yunhua Lin, who is due in court on Sept. 11. Image by anonymous.

[Lisbeth]

The fight to bring a deadly illegal industry to justice

25.09.2019

Wildlife crime is often overlooked and under-prosecuted but involves huge, organised criminal networks. Modern investigative techniques used to solve human crimes are now helping to catch the poachers, smugglers and traffickers, writes Léa Surugue


Cycad DNA samples being collected by the Barcode of Wildlife Project in South Africa. DNA sequencing and fingerprint analyses are now the weapon of choice in the fight against wildlife crime. Photo © http://www.barcodeofwildlife.org/sa.html

The cause of death was easy to figure out. The gun had left a deep wound, allowing Fiona Howie to locate the pellet at the base of the deceased’s neck. Spread across the grey metallic table, the victim had been dead for a week. The cadaver was found the day before in the middle of a field, by a passerby who had been walking his dog.

The body on the table is not that of your usual victim, just like Howie is not your typical forensic pathologist. She is a veterinary pathologist, and on her table is a young peregrine falcon.

Wildlife crime is not always taken seriously, despite the fact that wildlife trafficking is the fourth largest illegal industry worldwide, after human, weapons and drug trafficking.

In Europe, unlawful killing of wildlife and seizures of trafficked species rarely lead to arrests. The number of cases that end up in European courts appears to be even more limited, according to data collated by #WildEye.

Part of the problem is that for a criminal case to reach the prosecution stage, law enforcement needs to make a convincing case.

“The difficulty with wildlife crimes is that they often occur in remote areas, so there is rarely a witness,” says Nick Lyall, head of operations at Bedfordshire Police in the United Kingdom and national chair of the Raptor Persecution priority delivery group, an organisation focused on the investigation of crimes involving birds of prey.

“This means that it is even more crucial to recover physical evidence by using robust forensic techniques. If there is no realistic prospect that a case will be successfully prosecuted, because this evidence is lacking, it won’t be taken to court.”

The need for better evidence from a crime scene, to link suspects to wildlife crimes, has led to the rapid development of a field known as wildlife forensics – DNA sequencing and fingerprint analyses are now the weapon of choice in the fight against wildlife crime.

Whenever a person is found dead, identifying the victim, where they come from and whether the death involved foul play are the first steps in an investigation. These questions are particularly difficult to answer with wildlife – often because the remains of the victim are incomplete, or because they have been intercepted far from where the crime has occurred.


Rhino DNA is collected and stored by the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa. Photo © http://www.barcodeofwildlife.org/sa.html

Victim identification

“My primary role is to look for evidence of criminal activity,” says Howie, who works as a veterinary investigation officer with Scotland’s Rural College in Edinburgh. “I might find evidence of trauma, but I would have to look specifically at the cause of that trauma, whether the animal has been shot or caught in a trap, or if it got injured in another way, perhaps through misadventure. For that you need a good knowledge of what’s normal and what’s not in the anatomy, [appearance] and behaviour of an animal.”

Compared to other types of crimes, victim identification takes an entirely new dimension in the context of wildlife crime – and requires precise DNA analyses.

“We work with such a wide range of species that it can be hard at first to determine precisely which one has been recovered at a scene and whether it’s protected – and thus whether killing it was illegal,” says Nadja Morf, a researcher at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

“Identifying the species we are dealing with is one of the main questions that wildlife forensics are here to answer. Take the example of bushmeat confiscated at an airport. Law enforcement will want to know which species or genus it is, before they know whether they need to investigate and prosecute.”

Experts rely on morphological analyses and on the use of traditional techniques to sequence the non-human DNA samples recovered at a crime scene – be it from animal parts, blood, feathers or bones. Depending on which of these materials scientists are dealing with, the DNA extraction technique may differ, but the idea is always to come up with a DNA sequence that can be matched to known sequences listed in reference databases, in order to quickly identify the species involved.

The problem is that these databases are incomplete and not always reliable. Genbank is an example of a large database that forensic scientists can turn to, but the fact that it is open-access limits its use.

“The data on Genbank is uploaded by people who may misidentify things, and may associate genetic data with the wrong species,” says Lucy Webster, a wildlife forensic scientist from the Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (Sasa) laboratories. “You have to be cautious if you use it for species identification, and I try to use more secure, validated databases, but the problem is that they are not as complete.”

The question of where an animal or a plant comes from is relevant because the international Cites treaty protects some species only in certain countries. Learning about the provenance of a specimen may also help trace illegal trade networks.

If ivory products are seized in one location, for example, knowing where they came from and where the elephant was poached can give precious information about where the poaching hotspots are at a given time.

But identifying the origin of a species is no easy feat. “Finding out where something is from and whether it’s a wild or a captive specimen is important. Stable isotope analyses is one of the preferred methods, but again the issue with that is you need reference databases covering the locations where a specimen might have been from so you can actually assess and associate it back to where it was from – and we don’t have those yet,” says Webster.


Fingerprints soak into the tiny pores on ivory over time, making them difficult to trace, but a new powder can reveal who touched tusks up to 28 days later. Photo: Léa Surugue

Securing convictions

Some success stories do exist. When DNA samples are collected properly, Webster says their analyses can help secure convictions. In a recent case, she was able to use DNA sequencing to prove that the feathers found in the jacket of a man suspected of having stolen kestrel chicks were in fact feathers from this species. As a result, the suspect changed his plea to guilty.

Scientists from WWF Germany have also shown it is possible to create a database with information on wild species using an initiative known as IvoryID to fight international wildlife trafficking. With stable and radioactive isotope analysis methods, they have shown that it’s possible to determine the age of ivory samples, and to match their characteristics to data contained in a free reference database of more than 700 samples of ivory from African and Asian elephant range states. How this model can be replicated to other, more elusive species remains unclear, however.

In 2015 the senior prosecutor for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said, in a presentation to leading scientists, a third of the cases he prosecuted failed because it was difficult to connect a suspect to the crime, even when good evidence had been recovered that could demonstrate what had happened to the animal.

“Even when investigators could identify the species that had been killed and what had happened to it, they appeared to be having difficulty linking the criminal act to a particular suspect,” says independent forensic expert Jo Millington, who attended the talk. “This seemed like a significant disconnect, and it led to new conversations among experts about how human forensics – and techniques such as DNA, pathology, fingerprint or bloodstain pattern analysis – could be applied in an animal context.”

This means conducting research to test, validate and adapt the methods used routinely in human forensics to the context of wildlife crimes – for example, answering questions such as whether a fingerprint can be found on ivory tusks in the same way that fingerprint evidence is recovered from regular evidence, like glass.

One of the most successful examples of such research is perhaps the collaboration between Leon Barron from King’s College London and Mark Moseley from the Metropolitan Police Service, who worked together to develop a new ivory fingerprint kit, which is dispatched to more than 40 countries. The powder it contains can reveal prints up to 28 days after poachers have touched the ivory, compared to two or three days with conventional methods.

“Fingerprints on ivory degrade rapidly over time as they soak into its tiny pores, almost like a sponge,” says Barron. “The small powders we use are only about 40 micrometres in diameter, so they can stick to less fingerprint residue on ivory and give higher definition images, much like increasing the number of pixels in a camera. We have created something that’s really simple to use on the ground and has direct implication to identify a suspect and catch poachers which, at the end of the day, is what we want to do.”

Barron also recently showed that it is possible to predict the age of a person from the DNA contained in their blood, using artificial intelligence. The hope is that this can be replicated and validated for blood stains at crime scenes, and potentially used to solve future wildlife crimes.

Back in the field, Nick Lyall is optimistic that the use of these advanced techniques can help catch criminals sooner – but scientific work still needs to go hand in hand with a robust legal response.

“Sanctions that wildlife criminals receive are not strong enough, even when there is good evidence brought forward by robust forensic methods. Forensic sciences are a major step forwards in the fight against wildlife crime, but the law needs to be stricter and better enforced if we are to end this problem once and for all,” Lyall concludes.

[Lisbeth]

More North Korean diplomats caught smuggling animal parts from Africa

POSTED ON27TH SEP 2019 | By Omphile Ndlovu, Diggers News



This report can reveal that Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) officials in Africa have continued to engage in illegal smuggling, thus putting African governments at risk and wildlife species, such as Rhinos, in danger. According to a government official who requested to remain anonymous due to the on-going investigation, a North Korean diplomat named Kim Hyon Chol was this year caught by Dutch authorities smuggling tusks out of South Africa.

This is yet another smuggling incident by DPRK, as multiple other incidents across Africa have been reported in recent years. In December 2015, a North Korean diplomat was ejected from South Africa after he was allegedly discovered to be abusing his diplomatic immunity and his embassy’s diplomatic bag to smuggle rhino horn out of South Africa, according to reports from national media outlet News24. South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Co-operation spokesman Nelson Kgwete then regretted the incident involving the North Korean diplomat named Park Chol-jun.

In September 2017, The Economist reported that Africa is a smugglers’ paradise for North Korean diplomats, citing another North Korean official, Kim Jong Su, who was detained in Maputo, Mozambique after police found about $100,000 in cash and 4.6kgs of rhino horn in his vehicle.

A 2017 report by The Global Initiation against Transnational Organized Crimes lifted the lid on state-sanctioned North Korean criminal activity in Africa, exposing diplomats and embassies linked to illicit trade in rhino horn, ivory, cigarettes and gold.

African governments have previously taken some action against North Korea smuggling of endangered animal parts, and these deterrent actions by affected countries have received praise from the UN and regional conservative groups.

Commenting on the latest development in South Africa, Tanzanian Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Hamisi Kigwangalla, condemned the conduct of North Korean diplomats, describing it as a shame. “A criminal is a criminal, period! It makes no difference whether you are a diplomat or a peasant. As diplomats they should have been more noble. It is disappointing to learn that a reputable diplomat could actually do such a despicable thing quite unbecoming of their caliber. Shame on them!” said Dr Kigwangalla.

And spokesperson of the Mozambique National Police, Orlando Mudumane, recalled how his officers caught two North Koreans with smuggled rhino horn and bags of dollars, but expressed ignorance that one of them was a diplomat.

“Indeed, North Korean citizens involved in the trafficking of rhino spikes were arrested in Maputo and were publicly presented to the press but were not diplomats. I was the one who presented the case to the press. Mr Pak Chol Chun and Kim Jong Su, the latter was that he would be in Mozambique as a taekwondo master,” he recalled.

“In the car transporting the two North Koreans, and two more Mozambican citizens, the Police of the Republic of Mozambique found 4.6 kilograms of rhino horns and $ 93,300. We said the two foreigners accused of trafficking were returned to freedom after a US$30,000 bail was paid,” said Mudumane.

A South African Foreign Affairs official who sought anonymity said the continued involvement in smuggling by North Korean diplomats was straining the relations with African countries. “Look, diplomats are expected to be exemplary. These incidences take away from the mutual trust and the diplomatic spirit that is expected from bilateral relations. This is not the first time. In 2015, there was a similar case; that incident was an embarrassment, and this latest development only goes to show that there is an element of State sponsored smuggling by our colleagues,” said the official.

“So this, indeed, is a wake up call for African government to evaluate their relationship with North Korea. I can tell you that South Africa has made formal complaints to DPRK in the past.”

While Kim Hyon Chol has left South Africa permanently, a source involved in the investigation noted that North Korean officials involved in the attempted smuggling are still in South Africa.

Regional experts say that the Dutch interdiction of Kim Hyon Chol is expected to encourage African governments to step up mechanism aimed at curbing state-sponsored smuggling. Experts further warn that if African governments do not shake up their “risky” relationships with North Korea, their bilateral ties will largely be one way in favour of the Asian country.

Meanwhile, shipping companies in Southern Africa say they are increasingly sceptical of doing business with DPRK, as the companies are likely to lose money as shipments risk confiscation.

African rhinos have been poached at a rate of three per day for five straight years. This is according to the International Rhino Foundation 2018 report. And the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is warning that two of Africa’s rhino species are being pushed back into the brink of extinction due to a huge surge in poaching and illegal rhino horn smuggling, primarily into Asia.

Countries and conservationists are stepping up their efforts to curb wildlife smuggling on the continent, but there appears to be loopholes in these efforts to stop the systematic trend of State-sponsored wildlife smuggling involving diplomats.

According to a new National Geographic report, at least 18 instances of North Korean diplomats being implicated in smuggling have been reported, but they’ve rarely been caught or punished.