Cracking Down on a 300 Billion VND Illegal Wildlife Trade Network

Despite multiple seizures of their illegal cargo, criminals involved in wildlife smuggling continue to brazenly import and trade wild animals for substantial profits.

On June 22, the Economic Police Department of Danang City arrested Nguyen Duc Tai (33 years old, from Ha Tinh province) for violating regulations on the protection of endangered, rare, and precious animals. This case represents the largest wildlife smuggling incident to date, involving over 138 kg of rhinoceros horns, more than 3 tons of lion bones, over 456 kg of elephant ivory, and over 6 tons of pangolin scales, with an estimated total value reaching 300 billion VND (approximately 13 million USD).

According to the police, Vietnam has long been a hotspot for the illegal transit of rhinoceros horns, elephant ivory, and pangolin scales from African countries. These illicit goods are smuggled into Vietnam and then sold to markets in China, Laos, and Cambodia. In recent years, due to increased law enforcement efforts, the prices of these illegal items in the black market have skyrocketed.

Specifically, the price for 1 kg of rhinoceros horn is around 100,000 USD (approximately 2 billion VND), 1 kg of elephant ivory is around 3,000 USD (approximately 60 million VND), and 1 kg of pangolin scales is around 300 USD (approximately 6 million VND). Despite these exorbitant profits, wildlife smugglers in Vietnam, in collusion with foreign partners, persist in establishing transnational smuggling networks, including maritime routes.

On July 17, 2021, the police, in coordination with the Danang Customs Department and relevant units, inspected a container declared as wooden flooring imported from South Africa. Inside the container, they discovered 52 rhinoceros horns weighing over 138 kg and 93 boxes of lion bones weighing 3,108 kg.

Continuing their efforts, on January 5, law enforcement discovered another container declared as cashew nuts from Nigeria. However, upon inspection, it was found to contain over 456 kg of elephant ivory and 6,232 kg of pangolin scales.

Following the seizure of these two shipments, the perpetrators did not cease their criminal activities. Instead, they continued to create fake companies to smuggle wild animals. On June 22, the police temporarily detained Tai and confiscated numerous related exhibits, including a bag of pangolin scales intended for marketing purposes.