Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CONNECTION:
Exposing the global hub
of the illegal ivory trade
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
July 2017
All currency conversions are approximations. 18 LESSONS FROM THE SHUIDONG SYNDICATES
1 US Dollar = 6.83 Chinese RMB
This report was produced by the Environmental 19 MAP: ROUTE OF THE PEMBA IVORY SHIPMENT
Investigation Agency (EIA).
Putian
EIA US
P.O.Box 53343
Washington DC 20009 USA
Tel: +1 202 483 6621
Fax: +202 986 8626
email: usinfo@eia-international.org
www.eia-global.org
COVER IMAGE:
Aerial photograph of Shuidong,
Guangdong province, China.
SUMMARY
Surprising many, and putting other countries to shame, China has taken significant
steps to close its legal domestic ivory market in the past year. This is a positive
move by a country with one of the biggest ivory markets and demonstrates
leadership and pragmatism. However, there remain serious questions on the lack
of enforcement in China, and abroad, against Chinese nationals deeply involved in
the illegal ivory trade, who continue to operate with complete impunity.
Following on from leads gathered in Over the course of more than a year, Tanzania, they shifted to neighbouring
Tanzania in 2014, the Environmental discussions with the traffickers gave an Mozambique. Their relentless criminal
Investigation Agency (EIA) began unprecedented insight into the methods activities continue to be a major factor
investigating neighbouring Mozambique, used to source, ship and sell raw tusks, in the ongoing slaughter of elephants
a country whose elephant population and to manage profits. They provided and other wildlife across Africa.
has been devastated by poaching and fascinating detail on the significance of
the illegal ivory trade. Shuidong in global illegal ivory flows. Without enforcement action against
organised criminal networks, elephants
What followed was beyond anything Since supplanting Chinese gangs from and other wildlife will continue to be
EIA could have anticipated. Fujian as the main raw ivory traffickers threatened by the illegal wildlife trade.
more than a decade ago, the Shuidong The Shuidong syndicates in China and
The investigation in Mozambique syndicates have remained untouched Africa need to be investigated and
revealed a Chinese-led criminal by any enforcement action in China or prosecuted urgently. Continued
syndicate which for over two decades abroad. Although some ivory shipments inaction against groups such as these,
has been trafficking ivory from Africa have been intercepted, the only loss is undermines China’s announcement to
to Shuidong, its hometown in southern financial and the groups have developed close its legal domestic ivory market
China. According to this syndicate, various mechanisms for limiting this risk. and will render it futile in the fight
it is just one of about 10 to 20 similar against elephant poaching.
groups originating from Shuidong. By being flexible and adaptable, the
Their criminal exploits reveal how Shuidong syndicate is relentless in its Specific policy and enforcement
their small hometown has become, pursuit of profit from wildlife crime. recommendations are included at the
and remains, the world’s largest hub With the profitability of tusks from East end of this report.
for ivory trafficking: the group claims Africa falling, the Shuidong smugglers
up to 80 per cent of tusks from have moved into more profitable forest Actionable information from this
poached elephants in Africa pass elephant ivory and pangolin scales. investigation has been shared with
through Shuidong. When enforcement improved in the relevant enforcement authorities.
2
20 minutes the car pulled up outside a
two-storey house in a remote location.
Waiting to greet the buyers was Wang,
the third member of the trafficking
group. The buyers were taken into the
house and shown into a side room.
A light was switched on to reveal large
elephant tusks laid out for inspection.
3
EIA travelled to Zanzibar and eventually With their growing knowledge of doing
met with Shuidong native Wei Ronglu, business in Africa, experience of supply
a sea cucumber trader who had been routes back to China, presence in
based there since 2011. Wei was at first strategic coastal towns and their
evasive but later talked at length of the business cover, the Shuidong traders in
methods used by Shuidong syndicates to East and West Africa were well-placed
smuggle ivory. to move into the illegal ivory trade.
They were ready to take advantage of
China’s demand for ivory, which grew
FROM SEA CUCUMBERS TO rapidly in the late 1990s.
IVORY – SHUIDONG’S ROLE: Cultural factors have also played a role.
1990s ONWARDS Unique to the Maoming area, people
from Shuidong speak a dialect which BELOW:
Wei explained that in the 1990s, the originated from the Putian area of In places such as Tanzania, the
trafficking of ivory from Africa was neighbouring Fujian Province. As one sea cucumber business acts as a
controlled by criminal groups originating of the main ivory carving centres in cover for the illegal ivory trade.
from Putian, in China’s Fujian Province, China,9 Putian is the chief market for Sea cucumbers are a prized
before being replaced by the Shuidong raw ivory tusks smuggled by the delicacy in China.
syndicates. As a result of this shift, Shuidong syndicates.
Zanzibar, where the Shuidong sea
cucumber traders congregate, had Shuidong’s geographical location
become the “biggest hub in Africa is also advantageous to its role as
for ivory trading”, shipping tusks out China’s main raw ivory trading
from Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique hub. To the east lies Hong Kong,
under the cover of legal marine one of the world’s busiest ports
product businesses.8 and an important transit route for
bulk ivory shipments. To the west
Located on the coast of Guangdong lies Guangxi Province, which
Province, Shuidong’s emergence as shares a porous border with
the world’s biggest hub for wholesale northern Vietnam where the port
ivory trading is rooted in its culture and of Hai Phong is another frequent
geography. Administratively, it falls transit route for ivory. To the
under Dianbai County, a district of north-east lies Fujian Province,
Maoming City which has a population one of the biggest ivory processing
of almost eight million people. areas in China.10
The area is known as a trade centre
for a range of marine products
including fish maw, lobsters and squid,
with Shuidong specialising in sea
cucumber trade.
4
Wei described a closed network,
with syndicate leaders in Shuidong
orchestrating shipments of tusks
arranged by people from their hometown
who were based in Zanzibar as sea
cucumber traders. The syndicate
members on the ground were extremely
cautious, protecting themselves by
building a network of Tanzanian
accomplices; they avoided contact
with the ivory and ensured only the
names of their local co-conspirators,
employed as freight agents, appeared
on shipping documents.
5
and to look into sourcing sea cucumbers
THE MOZAMBIQUE and lobsters. This seemed implausible,
MEETING, 2016 given the group had flown all the
way from Guangzhou via Nairobi to
In April 2016, EIA investigators reach Pemba.
travelled to Mozambique on a
fact-finding mission. As enforcement Over the course of five days, EIA
against elephant poaching and ivory developed a rapport with the three
smuggling in neighbouring Tanzania had Shuidong people: all in their thirties,
gradually improved, and with a series of they introduced themselves as Ou
high profile cases and prosecutions of Haiqiang, Xie Xingbang and Wang
Chinese nationals, it was rumoured the Kangwen. They were also accompanied
traffickers were switching their by an unidentified Tanzanian national
attention to Mozambique. who drove a black sedan car with a
Tanzanian number plate. Every day
In the port town of Pemba, in northern the group would leave early with the
Mozambique, EIA encountered a Tanzanian, returning to the hotel late
group of three Chinese nationals. in the afternoon.
An important industry in the region
is the timber trade, which Chinese As time passed, they began talking
companies dominate; the presence of about wildlife trade, especially ivory,
Chinese nationals in Pemba was but denied being directly involved in
therefore unsurprising. What did stand the business, although Ou eventually
out, however, was their unique dialect – admitted to having done ivory deals in
they were from Shuidong. the past while based in Tanzania.
During initial conversations, the three After departing Mozambique, EIA BELOW:
stated their reason for being in Pemba investigators maintained contact with The three ivory traffickers in a
was to sell aluminium window frames Ou and Xie, slowly winning their hotel in Pemba, Mozambique.
6
confidence until they met again in Ou also described his uncle, Ou
Shuidong and then later in the Chinese Guanchao, as an experienced ivory
city of Shenzhen. smuggler, successfully running ivory
trafficking routes from several African
Over time, the traffickers explained their countries and becoming extremely
history in the ivory trade. Ou first visited wealthy in the process. Married to a
Uganda and Tanzania in 2008 to trade Vietnamese woman, Ou’s uncle prefers
fish maws, with Xie arriving in Tanzania to send ivory shipments into China
around the same time to trade sea via Vietnam. As a joint investor, Ou
cucumbers. Both speak passable collaborated with his uncle in a series
Swahili, testament to the time they of ivory shipments from Tanzania
have spent in East Africa. around 2012. The shipments were routed
via Vietnam and four containers were
It emerged that Ou and Xie were second successfully sent to Shuidong, providing
generation ivory smugglers. Their a profit of approximately $8 million for
uncles had been part of the first wave of Ou. His luck changed in 2013 when two
Shuidong people to move to Africa in the containers were seized in Hai Phong and
early 1990s. Xie’s uncle, Xie Yingjue, Zanzibar in quick succession. His uncle
went to Tanzania and Mozambique insisted that Ou bear the entire loss of
around 1990 to collect sea cucumber; about $5 million and the two never
he went on to become a major ivory cooperated again.
trafficker for the next two decades and
BELOW: in 2008 invited his then-jobless nephew Ou had previously been arrested twice in
(From top to bottom) to join him in Tanzania. Working with a Tanzania but on both occasions paid his
Xie Xingbang, Ou Haiqiang, Tanzanian, Xie’s uncle became rich from way out of trouble. Moreover, he was
and Wang Kangwen. ivory and built one of the most luxurious involved in another shipment of ivory
mansions in Shuidong, retiring about which was seized in Singapore in 2015
2012 just as major ivory seizures started after being shipped from the Kenyan
increasing. By this time, Xie had learnt port of Mombasa. The seizures and
the trade and taken over his uncle’s arrests marked the end of Ou’s ivory
business contacts, including the trading activities in Tanzania and
expansion of his interests in Pemba. disrupted his preferred trafficking
Xie forged an alliance with the nephew route via Vietnam: by 2015, however,
of the Tanzanian accomplice – this was he and his partner Xie were looking
the unidentified Tanzanian accompanying for new opportunities and routes,
the three Shuidong traders in Pemba in and switched operations to Pemba
April 2016. in Mozambique.
7
THE DECLINE OF ELEPHANTS IN MOZAMBIQUE AND TANZANIA
Mozambique and Tanzania have played a critical role in supplying ivory to criminal networks. Forensic
analysis of several large ivory seizures confirmed that the two countries were major sources of illegal
ivory.11 Over a five-year period (2009-14), Tanzania lost 60 per cent of its elephant population and
Mozambique 53 per cent.12 These were two of the worst recorded population declines of savannah
elephants in Africa based on surveys in 2014.
8
ABOVE: Each of the Shuidong group had a
Pemba port, Mozambique, 2012.
THE PEMBA SHIPMENT: 2016 defined role in the operation:
Detailed discussions provided an • Ou Haiqiang: investor, with a
unprecedented insight into an active 50 per cent share in the consignment
ivory smuggling ring and the methods and also responsible for arranging
used to source, ship and sell raw tusks buyers back in China;
and manage profits. Ou and Xie described
how they came to be involved in the • Xie Xingbang: employed as a fixer by
criminal enterprise and gave fascinating Ou to coordinate collection of the
detail on the methods used to traffic ivory because of his long-standing
ivory and the importance of their association with the Tanzanian
hometown in global illegal ivory flows. national accompanying the group;
After the initial encounter with the • Wang Kangwen: representative for a
three Shuidong ivory traffickers in Hong Kong-based businessman
Pemba during April 2016, EIA known only as “Nan-Ge”, or “elder
maintained regular contact and met brother Nan”, who invested the other
with them back in their hometown in 50 per cent.
June 2016, the first in a series of
meetings. Back on their home turf, The decision to travel all the way to
Ou and Xie were more confident and Pemba from China to inspect the tusks
open. They revealed their real reason prior to despatch was informed by an
for travelling to Pemba was to inspect earlier shipment from the town in 2016,
three tonnes of elephant tusks and also co-financed by Ou and Nan-Ge.
Ou told EIA: oversee the packing, loading and On that occasion, they contacted a
payment procedures. It had been Ou’s Mozambican supplier and placed an
“Frankly, it’s easier first visit to Pemba, while Xie had been order for 3.5 tonnes of tusks. The
to do this business in there once before while working for supplier discouraged them from
his uncle. Ou said: “It was the first time conducting a physical inspection,
Mozambique … it’s we had met you. I didn’t dare tell you claiming it would be too risky for him to
easier to operate. In much or discuss these things. Now we have Chinese people visit his warehouse.
are back in China, I can tell you Full payment was transferred prior to
Tanzania, don’t even whatever I want! Over there, I didn’t shipping, but when the load arrived it
want to say too much. I went over there
think about it.” Xie to move the goods out before returning
weighed only 2.9 tonnes and 100kg
were of poor quality. As Ou had
later added: “We’re back here.” introduced the Mozambican supplier,
able to move anything he conceded the better-quality tusks to
During the following months, EIA Nan-Ge; Ou was left with poor quality
through Pemba. gradually won the confidence of the ivory and lost money on the deal.
Shuidong traders until being invited to
Everyone there has inspect the Mozambique tusks in China The experience did not deter the group
been bought.” in October. from trying again. Improved enforcement
9
in neighbouring Tanzania had cemented returning late in the afternoon. During
their resolve to find new sources and the inspection phase, they chose 2.3
trafficking routes. While in Pemba, Ou tonnes from the assembled three tonnes,
told EIA: “Frankly, it’s easier to do this discarding 700kg as low quality or too
business in Mozambique … it’s easier to small – the tusks were from very young
operate. In Tanzania, don’t even think elephants. The chosen tusks were
about it.” Xie later added: “We’re able then moved to a secure warehouse in
to move anything through Pemba. Pemba and packed for shipping in a
Everyone there has been bought.” 40-foot container.
For the group’s second shipment out of According to Xie, the choice of “filler” or
Pemba, they opted to employ Xie’s legitimate goods to conceal the ivory is
trusted Tanzanian associate to collect key and based on products that will not
the tusks and liaise with a different arouse suspicion at the point of export
Mozambican supplier. Contacts on the or import. The nature of the consignee’s
ground confirmed to EIA that the business is also an important factor as
Tanzanian is a frequent visitor to the this appears on the shipping documents.
area and is known to associate with a
group of local elephant poachers. For the Pemba shipment, the group
opted for grey plastic pellets, weighing
An order for three tonnes of tusks was a total of 21 tonnes and worth about
placed, with an advance payment made $10,000. This was because the
to the local suppliers in Mozambique co-investor from Hong Kong, Nan-Ge,
and Tanzania to fund the collection owns a plastics products factory based
process. The initial payment was half in Shunde, Guangdong, which produces
of the cost of the consignment, a fee of items such as buckets made from
$300 per kg. This was referred to as pellets. With a track record of importing
the “Bill of Lading” price. It covered plastic pellets into Hong Kong, neither
payment of around $80-100 per kg of the paperwork nor the destination of the
ivory to the local poachers, funds to consignment was likely to raise any red BELOW:
buy arms and ammunition, food for flags under customs risk assessment A copy of the PIL Bill of Lading
poaching trips and bribes for police procedures. The choice of filler is so for the shipping container of
and customs officers. important that Xie had to source the 2.3 tonnes of ivory from Pemba
plastic pellets from a factory in Dar es to Hong Kong. Key details of the
All local payments are made in US dollars, Salaam, since they could not be sourced container, including the sender
with the group using Chinese black in northern Mozambique. are concealed.
market moneychangers based in Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania and Pemba. Money is
paid in Chinese renminbi into designated
accounts in China and transferred to the
local moneychangers who then provide
the cash for collection in dollars. While
deposit amounts vary depending on
relationships between traders, for this
three-tonne order of tusks the deposit
would have been $450,000, with the
balance paid once the Bill of Lading for
the shipment was received. Xie referred
to the role of the local accomplices as
a “dragon service”, encompassing
everything from collecting the ivory to
paying off customs officers.
10
The routing of the container is another For the shipment out of Pemba, the
vital factor in minimising the risk of Shuidong group planned to use the port
interception. Direct transport from of Busan, in South Korea, as the main
Africa to China is considered too great transit point and where the Bill of
a risk, so transit ports are used to Lading would be switched. They
disguise the origins of the shipment. explained how the route was “owned”
As Xie explained: “The goods can’t come by Nan-Ge, who had used it on five
directly from Africa. They must first go previous occasions to smuggle
to Singapore or elsewhere. There must contraband wildlife. Shuidong traffickers
be a transit point. If they came directly such as Ou often demand guarantee
from Africa, they would definitely check deposits of about 70 per cent of the
the container.” wholesale market value for customs
clearance of containers; in the case of
Another tactic is to “switch” the Bill of the Busan agent and this container,
Lading for the consignment during the however, no guarantee was given. The
journey. This method further hides the reason Ou agreed to this was because
origin of the container and conceals the Nan-Ge was a 50 per cent joint investor.
BELOW: identity of the sender and recipient.
Smugglers prefer to communicate The role of complicit freight agents Another key factor was the involvement
sensitive information using involved in submitting documents for of a Chinese freight forwarder operating
WeChat due to its anonymity. customs clearance along the route is in South Korea who specialises in
Here, one of the smugglers, Xie, also important in successfully moving arranging onward shipments of
asks if the customs clearance the container to its final destination. containers holding illegal wildlife
agent EIA uses is capable of Ivory smugglers who have set up products and even offers different rates
getting the plastic pellets that trustworthy routes with accomplices at depending on the species, ranging from
they normally use as fillers. every stage are said to “own the road”. $45 per kg for pangolin scales to $145
per kg for ivory. The export from Pemba
was to be arranged by another trusted
freight agent, the same Mozambican
who had worked with Xie’s Tanzanian
associate to collect the ivory.
11
ENFORCEMENT GAPS
Ivory traffickers rely on the active cooperation or exploitable ignorance of people from a variety of
professions – a vital support network which includes corrupt rangers, customs officers, shipping
agents, money changers, lawyers and local fixers.
The paperwork from a seizure can support further investigation. was sanctioned $5,000 for failing to exercise due
Following the interception of an ivory consignment in diligence,26 which appears to be Singapore’s maximum
Thailand in 2015, African and Asian enforcement networks sanction for similar cases.27 The Singaporean authorities
met and developed leads from the shipping documents.18 later crushed the seized ivory;28 around the same time as
Investigations spanning six countries resulted in the the Shuidong traders were coordinating their next ivory
arrests of Government and shipping officials in Kinshasa, collection in Nigeria.
Democratic Republic of the Congo.19
Shipping lines are also open to abuse. In 2016, the
In 2014, the ‘fee’ to ensure non-inspection of cargo by Shuidong group used the Singaporean shipping line Pacific
customs in Tanzania was said to be $70 per kg.20 Following International Lines (PIL) to transport its Mozambican
containerisation, shipping agents also play a central role – shipment; ivory traffickers shipping from Mombasa in 2013
either through active conspiracy or lack of due diligence also used the same line.29
processes. Zanzibar’s quick cargo clearance and feeder
lines to Asia have enabled Shuidong smugglers to traffic Criminals make use of financial services to pay for poaching
large quantities of ivory to China, while the names of many and ivory collection and for cargo logistics, sometimes in
freight agents from the island also appear regularly on instalments. State-owned and commercial banks may have
shipping paperwork in place of the true cargo owners.21,22 limits on international transfers as a preventative measure
against money laundering and some are in the process of
In the aftermath of a seizure, freight agents are often developing risk indicators for wildlife trafficking.
early targets for enforcement enquiries, but with varying
outcomes. In Togo, a shipping agent was sentenced to two The Shuidong group therefore uses wire payments via a
years in prison and fined CFA 25 million ($42,000),23 Tanzania-based money changer to help finance poaching.
whereas in Malaysia, despite its well-known role as a transit Payments for the successful delivery of a shipment of ivory
country,24 there have been no convictions related to any are made directly into a bank account in China in cash,
seizures of maritime ivory cargoes in recent years.25 thereby side-stepping bank warning systems. Financial
investigation techniques, which identify money flows,
After one of the Shuidong group’s shipments concealed in lifestyle and legal assets connected to such criminal
tea was seized in Singapore, the identified freight forwarder enterprises, are currently under-used methods.
for the crooked freight agent to issue a agent and pay him the proper smuggling
new Bill of Lading, which would break fee due for ivory.
the route, and move the container on to
Hong Kong. But the shipping agent in After the unexpected delay, the
Pemba had made a crucial mistake in repacked shipment finally reached
the original paperwork, listing Hong Hong Kong in mid-July; customs cleared
Kong as the ultimate destination rather what appeared to be a routine shipment
than Busan. of plastic pellets from South Korea.
The container was stored in a warehouse
This aroused the suspicions of the PIL owned by Nan-Ge until an opportune
office in Busan because the route via moment arose to move it into the
Busan between Singapore and Hong mainland. By late September it had
Kong did not make sense; the company finally arrived in Shuidong, having
refused to ship the container to Hong been shipped from Hong Kong to
Kong. This resulted in the container Shanghai. Ou picked it up himself
being moved to a secure location in the and drove it south.
port and the contents reloaded into a
new container for delivery to Hong Kong All shipments of ivory tusks successfully
by another shipping line. During this smuggled by the Shuidong syndicates
process, the freight agent employed by eventually reach their home base for
Nan-Ge realised the consignment was in secure storage while buyers are contacted.
fact ivory tusks and not pangolin scales According to Xie and Ou, most of the
for which he had received a lower fee. purchasers come from the main ivory
Nan-Ge had to fly out to placate the carving centres of Putian and Xianyou
12
THE NEED FOR TARGETING LARGE-SCALE IVORY TRAFFICKING
13
already had considerable stocks in hand The group entered the darkened house,
and so were not interested in the Pemba moved into a lit side room where the
tusks at the asking price. tusks were stored and got down to
business. Ou explained he had moved
Upon arrival in Shuidong, EIA 500kg of the best quality tusks from the
investigators met with Ou and Xie for previous location and Wang confirmed
lunch and one more round of vetting. that none of the 2.3 tonnes shipment
Ou and Xie initially appeared pensive at had yet been sold. The tusks were laid
the prospect of bringing outsiders into out on the concrete floor: there were
their trusted circle but gradually relaxed approximately 100 whole tusks, ranging
and, convinced a lucrative deal would
from 90-120cm long.
take place, agreed to an inspection.
Initially planned for early evening, the Ou wanted a price of RMB5,100 ($750)
viewing was postponed until after per kg for the good quality tusks but
midnight due to a family bereavement was willing to sell the entire 2.3 tonnes
in the house where the tusks were from Pemba at a reduced cost of
stored, necessitating removal to another RMB4,000 ($580) per kg: a total of
location. At about midnight, Ou finally more than $1.3 million dollars. Wang
picked up the EIA investigators from assured the prospective buyers that if
Shuidong, insisting for security reasons they bought the tusks it would be safe to
they all travel in his vehicle rather than transport them out of the area to other
follow behind in their own. locations in southern China.
As the group travelled to the outskirts Wang claimed he regularly moved ivory
of Shuidong, the town lights gave way between Shuidong and the city of
to pitch dark. All the passengers could Shenzhen and had never experienced
tell was that they were driving through any problems, explaining that he
an area of forestland, along increasingly
routinely used a regular Toyota family
narrow and winding roads. After a
van and advising which roads were
20-minute journey, they arrived at
Baishitang. Exiting the car outside a preferable for the journey to Shenzhen.
two-storey house, the investigators He even offered to escort the ‘buyers’ BELOW:
were surprised to be greeted by Wang for part of the journey, saying he was In October 2016, after months
Kangwen, who they had not seen since 98 per cent confident of success. of negotiation, EIA investigators
their first encounter in Pemba in April. As Ou had earlier said, in 20 years of finally convinced Wang and Ou to
It appeared Wang also had family ivory trading there had been no show them part of the 2.3 tonne
connections to the village since some of incidents of ivory being seized by ivory shipment they had
his relatives were keeping watch outside. authorities in the Shuidong area. arranged back in April 2016.
14
IVORY SEIZURES LINKED TO THE SHUIDONG GROUP
3 2
1 2.4 TONNES OF TUSKS Consignment believed to originate in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Transported via
seized in Hai Phong, Vietnam, Malaysia to Hai Phong.
October 22, 2013, concealed with
seashells Consignee: Cong Ty Co Phan Hoang Gia Exim. Container was due to be
re-exported to China via the Lang Son border crossing. Two other seizures of
ivory concealed by seashells occurred at Hai Phong Port around the same time.
No known arrests connected to this case.
2 2.9 TONNES OF IVORY Believed to be linked to the Hai Phong seizure (above). Container due to be
seized in Zanzibar, Tanzania, loaded onto PIL vessel Kota Hormat and shipment bound for the Philippines.
November 13, 2013, concealed
with seashells Consignor: Island Sea Food Co Ltd, Mtoni, Zanzibar
Consignee: Trison Trading, Cebu, Philippines
3 3.7 TONNES OF IVORY The Shuidong group told EIA investigators that the container was going to be
seized in Singapore in two inspected because of an earlier seizure of ivory tusks in Thailand which had
containers, May 19, 2015, also departed from Mombasa and was concealed with tea leaves. “We had
concealed with tea leaves and people in Singapore, a customs clearance company … we were told that the
shipped from Mombasa container had to be opened … that containers carrying tea leaves from Kenya
Mombasa … all had to be opened.”
15
SWITCHING SOURCES
“YELLOW MATERIALS ... THE PRICE IS MUCH HIGHER”
A few months later, Ou contacted EIA
again, offering a consignment of tusks
from Nigeria; they must have sold the The Shuidong syndicate made several mentions of “yellow”
ivory smuggled from Pemba. At the time ivory or materials from West and Central Africa, stating this
of the viewing in October, Ou had ivory could be sold for nearly $900 per kg in China. This is
revealed his plans to switch sourcing
from East Africa to Nigeria, saying he $150 more than the price for “white” ivory from East and
needed to transfer RMB2.5 million southern Africa.
($365,000) across to his contacts there
to begin collecting a new batch of tusks Traffickers made a clear distinction between the two types, describing
from the region. the different colour and shape of “yellow” ivory and its source in Africa.
This ivory is most probably from forest elephants, which are found only in
The main reason for the change in the tropical forests of West and Central Africa.
operations was the diminishing
profitability of trafficking ivory from Nigeria and Cameroon were mentioned as two countries where forest
East Africa (savannah elephants). elephant ivory could be obtained. Both have experienced massive
According to the Shuidong group, declines in their elephant numbers32,33 so it seems likely that this ivory is
“yellow materials” from West and
being sourced from forest elephant populations in the nearby countries
Central Africa (forest elephants) can be
of the Central African Republic, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of
sold for an average of RMB6,000 ($900)
in China, compared with RMB5,000 the Congo.
($750) for the best quality “white” or
savannah ivory. Forest elephants number far fewer than the better-known savannah
elephants of eastern and southern Africa.34 Also threatened by the loss
According to the traders, four years of tropical forest, any increase in the trade of forest elephant ivory will
previously, “white” ivory could fetch have a significant impact on the survival of this species.35
RMB10,000 ($1,500) per kg; while still
profitable, by early 2015 they were The operations of this and connected criminal networks in West and
looking at RMB7,000 ($1,000). Central Africa are a direct threat to this species.
16
Pemba. Ou claimed Nan-Ge had lied to
him over the fee for the freight agent
in South Korea, cheating him out of
RMB1 million ($145,000). Ou and
Wang would collectively invest
50 per cent in the shipments out of
Nigeria, with the associate from Fujian
investing the other half. Xie was not
involved because his contacts and
suppliers are limited to East Africa;
however, he received a fee of
RMB450,000 ($65,000) for his role
in the Pemba shipment.
© Getty Images
17
HOW TO SMUGGLE IVORY TUSKS:
Lessons from the Shuidong syndicates
The Shuidong group’s success results from a blend of risk management and market adaptation.
Other Shuidong inhabitants have a history in ivory trade and, having inherited the business from older
relatives, the group relies on familial ties and trust.
Their methods, which help explain why there has never been any enforcement action, include:
Specialisation
The Shuidong syndicates focus on a single part of the illicit
ivory supply chain – the smuggling of raw tusks from Africa
for the wholesale market in China. This has a number of
advantages. It is the most lucrative part of the chain; the
biggest single mark-up in the price of an ivory tusk occurs
when it is moved onto the Chinese mainland. Focusing on
wholesale trade to trusted buyers also ensures a low
profile, compared to those involved in operating carving
factories or retail outlets. One of the largest seizures of
tusks in China in recent years led to the prosecution of a
Fujian-based businessman who owned an ivory-carving
company and retail outlet registered with the Chinese
Government. He sought to diversify by directly sourcing
tusks from several African countries and was caught. His
lack of expertise in smuggling tusks, as well as a proactive
enforcement effort, led to a 15-year prison sentence.40
RIGHT:
A luxury mansion in Lipuzai village in Shuidong
town belonging to Xie Yingjue, a prolific ivory
trafficker, who was previously based in
Tanzania. He has since retired and handed over
his contacts to Xie Xingbang, his nephew.
18
THE ROUTE FOR THE 2.3 TONNES OF IVORY TRAFFICKED
FROM PEMBA, MOZAMBIQUE TO SHUIDONG, CHINA IN 2016.
ROUTE:
19
ROUTE:
ROUTE:
4
2
4 Overland by car, south to Shuidong
LOCATION:
3
5
5 In house storage Shuidong, China
20
RECOMMENDATIONS
THE GOVERNMENT OF CHINA: THE GOVERNMENTS OF ALL COUNTRIES
IMPLICATED IN THIS REPORT:
• Deploy targeted multi-agency specialised investigations to
identify and disrupt networks engaged in the illegal ivory • Share intelligence and co-ordinate enforcement and legal
trade in Shuidong, and connected groups and buyers in responses in a timely fashion, making use of existing
Putian, Fujian province and beyond international programmes through the International
Consortium on Combatting Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) partners,
• Employ a range of laws related to tax, anti-money US Fish and Wildlife, the United Nations Convention on
laundering, anti-corruption and organised crime to collect Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC) and the United
evidence for asset seizures and criminal prosecution Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)
• Coordinate intelligence-led operations targeting Chinese • Investigate and prosecute freight agents that are
nationals operating in and between source and transit facilitating trafficking
countries featured in this report
21
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