Pangolins: multimillion-dollar animal faces extinction as trade thrives

The world’s most trafficked mammal is a solitary anteater resembling an artichoke: the pangolin. Prized for its scales, particularly for use in traditional Chinese medicine, this quiet animal is at the centre of a sophisticated, multimillion-dollar supply chain across Africa and Asia, run by networks of criminal syndicates. “Roughly 50 tonnes of illegal African pangolin scales have been seized globally in the last four months,” says Peter Knights, the chief executive of WildAid. “In shipments that contain both pangolins and ivory, pangolin scales have now surpassed the volume of ivory.” High demand has made the pangolin the most illegally traded mammal in the world, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). All eight subspecies of the shy animal are threatened with extinction; the IUCN says in the 10 years following 2004, more than a million pangolins were killed. And when pangolins disappear, so does the ecological balance in their natural habitats. A global ban on the trade that came into effect in January 2017 did not turn things around. Record numbers of pangolins have been seized this year. The Environmental Investigation Agency estimates law enforcement agencies have confiscated around 110,000 pangolins this year – a 54.5 per cent increase on last year. Without intervention, the pangolin will be driven to extinction. Unfortunately, an undercover investigation into the illegal trade routes that stretch from Africa to China suggests the trade is as entrenched as ever. Tracking pangolins, the world’s most-trafficked animal, in the Central African Republic CHINA: TONNES OF DEMAND Outside the gates of a warehouse in southern China, a middle-aged man surnamed Zhang at first shows no interest in answering questions about his business dealings in traditional Chinese medicine. His mood changes when pangolins are mentioned. “Do you have supply?” he asks. “Come to our office, let’s talk about it more.” Zhang works in the supply department of a traditional medicine producer in Shantou, Guangdong province. “So far this year, we’ve used several tonnes of pangolin scales,” he says. “We need at least a few hundred kilograms a month.” “We ordered a tonne of scales last month, but they haven’t arrived yet,” Zhang says, adding that they will also sell unprocessed scales to pharmaceutical companies. Hunting pangolins has been banned in China since the 1980s, but the country still allows traditional Chinese medicine practitioners to use scales from already existing stockpiles. This has pushed up the price of legally available pangolin scales, prompting many suppliers to turn to cheaper, illegal imports. Zhang insists his company is willing to pay a surcharge to source only legal scales, which can cost up to twice as much. “Price is not a problem,” he says. His company, like others, makes medicines out of raw pangolin scales in industrial quantities. When asked about the origin of their scales, the company declines to comment. China’s pangolin population has dropped over 90 per cent from the 1960s to 2004 due to poaching. Besides the medicinal use of its scales, pangolin meat is considered a delicacy. The Chinese pangolin has been “commercially extinct” since 1995, researchers say. Chinese and Vietnamese demand for pangolin scales and meat is pushing the shy, scaly animal to extinction The profit margins are astounding. Scales bought for as little as US$5 per kilogram in Nigeria can be resold for up to US$1,000 in China. If mixed with legally acquired scales, their price can be as high as US$1,800 per kilogram. According to some traditional medicine practitioners, pangolin scales can cure a host of ailments, including inflammation and poor lactation in new mothers, and even impotence and cancer. Dr Lao Lixing, the former director of the School of Chinese Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, says there is no scientific research that supports such claims. He says traditional medicine practitioners in Hong Kong and mainland China have largely stopped prescribing medications with pangolin scales, but pharmaceutical companies have continued to use them. “It’s a matter of market and profits,” he says. “To further the ban on pangolin use in Chinese medicine, we need more public education and concerted efforts by the traditional Chinese medicine sector.” Malaysia: border smuggling Next to a roadside food stall, sparse night-time traffic whizzes by. Everything is tinged orange by street lights. This is a small town in Kedah, Malaysia, a 40-minute drive south of the Thai border. The pangolin smuggler arrives with his daughter, a child no older than six. It is a scene that is difficult to reconcile – she, dressed like a princess, complete with a tiara. He, a smuggler of pangolins and who knows what else. “OK, let me explain,” he says. “The goods come from Indonesia, and the towkays, they bid for the goods.” He uses the colloquial term for buyer or “boss”. “Goods from Indonesia, it must be at least a tonne.” Overwhelming demand for pangolins is driving an illicit trade that often slips past local law enforcement. Sometimes the reason is corruption, as evidenced by this man, who is not only a smuggler, but also a policeman. Earlier he was at a magistrate courthouse, standing trial for possession of 81 live pangolins. Pangolin use in TCM unacceptable, say most Hong Kong people in Chinese medicine survey He says the pangolin market is so competitive that syndicates are double-crossing each other to gain an advantage, and that is how he got caught. “When the goods are available, they already have their target,” he says. “In fact, I have sabotaged [other people] before.” Malaysian government sources say the market is price-driven, and the syndicate that pays the highest can dominate the market. A Thai official says the smuggling routes mainly lead to the provinces near the Mekong River in northeast Thailand – Nakorn Phanom, Mukdahan, and Nongkhai – before going to Laos, and then on to Vietnam and China. Near the border, professional smugglers are hired to send the goods across the border. Members of the police and other enforcement authorities are often involved. Since 2012, three Malaysian policemen have been arrested for smuggling pangolins, including one officer who was arrested twice. All three worked, or are still working, at the Kedah state police headquarters. The Malaysian government sources have evidence linking 12 enforcement officers to the pangolin trade, suggesting there is a wider network of corruption. These officers range from traffic cops to high-level border control officers, and the majority are based in the northern state of Kedah, bordering Thailand. “We are taking this seriously,” says Kedah police chief Zainuddin Yaacob, when asked about evidence of corruption within his ranks. “If [police officers] are charged or convicted, then we can take action by suspending them from duty. If they are convicted under criminal charges, then there is no option but to discharge them from service.” Hong Kong’s black market in pangolin scales feeding demand in mainland China, campaigners fear INDONESIA: THE MONEY TRAIL Court records and interviews with poachers and the police suggest the pangolin trade in Indonesia has become highly professional. Indeed, experts say it is now so sophisticated it resembles the drug trade. In Sumatra, Java and Kalimantan, pangolins provide an essential balance to the ecosystem, feeding on pests which affect plants such as the oil palm. However, syndicates in these areas “hunt on a massive scale during the transition from rainy season to dry season”, says Sustyo Iriyono, the official at the Environment and Forestry Ministry in charge of fighting the illicit pangolin trade. Investigators typically aim for the poachers and then try to work their way up the syndicate through vendors and middlemen. Rarely do they get very far. The premiums on the trade leave plenty of room for middlemen. In Indonesia, a poacher might get around US$20 for a kilogram of pangolin meat. The same meat could sell for up to US$1,200 elsewhere. The value of scales multiplies 30-fold along the supply chain. Sustyo estimates Indonesia is the world’s largest illicit exporter of pangolin meat and scales, even though pangolins in Indonesia cannot compete with the African subspecies in terms of size. Shipments mostly go to mainland China, sometimes through Vietnam and Hong Kong. Asked about the smuggling routes, he says the trade networks have become “well organised”. “In the past, smugglers used cargo planes,” Sustyo says. “After this was discovered, they began altering the manifests of shipping containers. Pangolins are hidden among export commodities such as dried squid and fish. Some evade detection by going through small ports, where fishing boats are involved.” Some recent seizures near Medan, Sumatra’s largest city, indicate an extensive trade network. The port city is already known as a major smuggling hub. Police Brigadier General Dedi Prasetyo, a national police spokesman, says Medan, Surabaya in eastern Java and Pontianak in western Kalimantan are the most significant transit locations. New pangolin laws bite as Chinese man sentenced to 20 months for trafficking Several seizures have been linked to a man called Robert Ongah. Also known as “Atiam”, attempts to reach him go unanswered. “I represent Pak Robert,” says an employee of an alcoholic beverages maker in Jakarta, using a deferential term. “He has no comment, and all of the questions in the interview request are wrong.” Ongah is the owner of Tetap Jaya, a frozen fish export company, with an office in Medan, among other ventures, including the brewer. Police say they have traced at least 50 billion Indonesian rupiah, or US$3.5 million, of transfers from suspected intermediaries to him. More than half of these funds were traced from Ongah’s accounts to the account of one Edy Soerja Susanto. The funds then reached wildlife dealers who were later arrested. It is unclear whether Edy is being investigated. Over the phone, he denies involvement in the pangolin trade. “I don’t know Robert Ongah,” he says, ending the call. Investigators believe the network is tied to other, more sinister, crimes. Dian Ediana Rae, deputy chair of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, says some transactions link the network to the convicted drug lord Togiman. Togiman has been sentenced to death twice, in 2016 and 2017, for various narcotics cases, including for continuing his operations behind bars. His bank account balance: 6.4 trillion rupiah, or US$458 million. HONG KONG: END POINT Hong Kong has been a smuggling hub for pangolin scales since 2014. Most come in containers shipped from Africa, but smaller operations use speedboats or air freight. While there are more than 7,100 licensed traditional Chinese medicine traders in Hong Kong, dealers say the business is more profitable and less risky in mainland China. China cracks 9 pangolin smuggling gangs as demand for endangered mammal remains high At the Lo Wu Correctional Institution, two small-time traffickers are serving time for trying to smuggle 110kg of pangolin scales in four suitcases from Hong Kong to Macau by ferry, en route from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The women, originally from Guangxi in southern China, were caught at the airport during a routine customs X-ray. Their suitcases contained the scales of 302 pangolins, at a total weight of 110kg and worth about US$71,000, wrapped in tin foil bags. They originally denied knowledge of the scales, claiming they thought they were dried seafood, but pleaded guilty at trial and were sentenced to 16 months in jail. The court heard their case after new legislation in November 2018 increased penalties for pangolin trafficking to fines of up to HK$10 million, or roughly US$1.3 million, and up to 10 years in prison. One of the women now says while she knowingly trafficked pangolins, she had not expected to be jailed. A friend in Congo had told them that if they got caught he would pay the fine. “We trusted him,” she says. The pair now spend their days washing dishes and cleaning floors in a prison kitchen. When they are released, they will return to Guangxi. “We will be sent to the border and then take high-speed trains to go home,” says one, with a wry smile. ■ The Global Environmental Reporting Collective is a collaboration among journalists in 10 countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe. More than 30 journalists contributed to this report. For the full report, go to globalstory.pangolinreports.com