Samuel Jefwa, the “Ivory King” and his brother, Nicholas, are the biggest ivory traffickers in the world. They are wanted by Interpol and law enforcement in multiple countries for ivory trafficking and organized crime.
In April 2015, Thai customs officers opened containers, stamped “Tea Leaves,” that had been shipped from Kenya. Inside they found elephant tusks, almost three tonnes of ivory, a multimillion dollar haul.
Jefwa was the mastermind of this industrial-scale smuggling operation, earning the nickname “The Ivory King.” The investigation revealed that he was exploiting local corruption, with a network inside the Kenyan customs authority, the logistics centres and the ports, and with possible links even to those close to the Kenyan government.
The Kenyan authorities and the environmental unit of Interpol launched an international manhunt, but somehow the two brothers have continued to elude them. The investigation extends from Kenya, to the United States and Singapore.
Samuel and his brother Nicholas are both still at large, under an Interpol red notice.