‘Greatest wildlife crime on the planet’ threatens multiple ecosystems
Millions of glass eels are smuggled out of Europe each year, and their looming extinction poses a serious ecological threat. #WildEye investigates...
13 November, 2019
smuggling Tag
How we (almost) became reptile smugglers
Cyberspace provides an anonymous, versatile marketplace for illegal wildlife trade. Rudi Bressa investigates how easy it is to set up illicit deals from Italy...
30 July, 2019
On the trail of Mali’s dangerous donkey traffickers
Mali restricted the sale and slaughter of donkeys for skins in 2016, so syndicates have turned to smuggling stolen animals to Ghana. Oscar Nkala investigates...
28 May, 2019
The donkey slaughter capital of West Africa
Demand for donkey-hide glue has turned Ghana into the region’s slaughterhouse, and the Chinese abattoir behind the trade is re-opening for business. Oscar Nkala investigates...
20 May, 2019
Exposing the abalone-rhino poaching links
John Grobler investigates the overlap between abalone and rhino horn smuggling syndicates operating between South Africa, Namibia and Hong Kong...
08 March, 2019
Kenya – the epicentre of East Africa’s donkey crisis
Stolen donkeys are smuggled across borders with Tanzania and Ethiopia to feed Kenya’s expanding abattoirs and Chinese demand for donkey-hide glue. Oscar Nkala investigates...
28 November, 2018
East Africa’s ivory smuggled out of Mozambican ports
Modus operandi of ivory smuggling networks exposed after recent arrest of a 'mastermind' in the illicit trade from Pemba to China. Estacio Valoi investigates...
07 November, 2017
Border bandits turn to donkey smuggling
Donkey smugglers are taking advantage of cross-border criminal networks to meet the growing demand for hides. Oscar Nkala investigates...
05 October, 2017
How SA’s abalone ends up on China’s plates
Crystal Chow investigates how the race over the most sought-after delicacy in Asia embodies the developmental dilemma in post-apartheid South Africa...
09 June, 2017
A mysterious dead hand driving Namibia’s poaching
After a two-year investigation, John Grobler exposes the totem-based networks facilitating transnational rhino horn smuggling and defeating the pursuit of suspects...
15 September, 2016