World's Largest Illegal Ivory Hub Located in Guangdong

By Jesse Pottinger, July 6, 2017

A three-year investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency revealed that Shuidong, in Guangdong province, has become the world’s largest base for the illegal trade of ivory tusks coming out of Africa.

According to Asian Correspondent, the London-based agency discovered that Shuidong takes in a whopping 80 percent of the African ivory that enters the Middle Kingdom.

The southern Chinese town is home to a vast network of traffickers, with connections spanning the entire continent of Africa, where illegal poaching is “devastating Africa’s elephant populations,” according to EIA Campaigns Director Julian Newman.

During the EIA investigation, the agency followed a 2-ton shipment of ivory from Mozambique to Shuidong, offering researchers a deeper understanding of how an ivory smuggling syndicate operates.

Despite the Chinese government’s efforts to end the market for ivory in China, smuggling is still widespread, said EIA Executive Director Mary Rice, according to Asian Correspondent.

“The Chinese government’s decision to shut its domestic ivory market by the end of 2017 is an admirable response to mounting international pressure to end the industrial-scale slaughter of Africa’s elephants,” said a statement released by Rice, adding the EIA investigation clearly demonstrates that transnational criminal groups are “operating with near-total impunity.”

The statement also points out that efforts by Chinese and African governments are essential to “put these criminals out of business immediately.”

Traffic's Dr. Richard Thomas agrees that it will take more than actions on the Chinese side to end the trade in ivory, previously telling That’s: "Undoubtedly global cooperation is essential, this issue is so big that it cannot be tackled by one country alone – even one the size of China."

The EIA first discovered Shuidong-connected smugglers on the island of Zanzibar, in Tanzania, where in just one year, a single group of smugglers were responsible for 20 ivory shipments to China.

Previously, illicit ivory trade in Tanzania made headlines when members of Xi Jinping's 2013 delegation to the east African nation used their trip as a chance to buy so much ivory that local prices doubled.

According to EIA, smugglers joined forces with Shuidong locals who had experience in the sea cucumber trade and ample knowledge of the supply routes between Africa and China, making them ideal partners in crime.

In Tanzania, successful enforcement of poaching laws pushed traffickers out of the country and into neighboring Mozambique. In the coastal town of Pemba, Mozambique, EIA investigators managed to gain the confidence of syndicate partners by posing as prospective traders and logistics experts.

During a year-long investigation, the EIA discovered ‘fixers’ based in Africa who secured ivory shipments to China, as well as Chinese nationals who traveled to the continent to examine future shipments of ivory.

According to Asian Correspondent, the EIA claims that freight agents, as well as border and customs officials are among other key players in the smuggling operation, taking bribes in exchange for overlooking criminal activity.

EIA Campaigns Director Julian Newman said “EIA has shared, in confidence, the detailed intelligence unearthed during the course of the Shuidong investigation with relevant government departments and enforcement agencies and looks to them to use it,” adding that action is necessary to end the illegal business.

UPDATE (July 7, 2017 at 3.06pmpm CST): This article has been updated to remove indirect references to WildAid conservation work and the anti-ivory operations of the Chinese government.

[Images via Asian Correspondent, That's]