On the Asian black market, a dead adult tiger is worth around $50,000. Their bones are melted down into tiger glue, said to provide health benefits, a fuelling a multi-billion dollar industry. In this exclusive investigation, we track down the kingpins of a powerful tiger cartel stretching across Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and China and infiltrate their clandestine factory farms where tigers are factory-farmed like livestock. A high-risk investigation across Southeast Asia.
Less than 5,000 tigers remain in the wild, mostly in Asia. A symbol of power and an object of admiration, this magnificent cat is also unfortunately also seen as a commodity. In what appears to be an ordinary zoo in Laos, in an area off-limits to visitors, lies a clandestine breeding facility. There are dozens of tiger cubs here. “Often the cubs that you see go in glass jars with alcohol in it,” lament interpol agent Jayeeta Kar. “Every part of the tiger is worth some money.”
At the heart of a sprawling criminal network are the Bach brothers. Now on the run, these Thai gangsters made a fortune in the illegal trafficking of wild tigers. We dive into a world populated by smugglers, tiger killers, and those who transform the carcasses into capsules and pastes with prices to rival narcotics. The pursuit of the tiger cartel and its supply network leads us to the heart of Laos – a country off-limits to journalists, where powerful businessmen, with connections to the Laotian state, invest in immense “tiger factories”.
In South Africa, murders are being committed over rhinoceros horns. The country is home to 80% of the planet’s rhinos, a critically endangered species. This war is fuelled by demand in Asia, where the horn, believed to possess miraculous medicinal properties, fetches the same price as cocaine.
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It’s estimated that 1500 monkeys are smuggled out of the Democratic Republic of Congo every year in a trade worth millions of dollars. When a crate of 40 monkeys coming from the DRC was intercepted back in 2023, it provided a window into how corrupt officials, working with poachers, operate with impunity.
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They’re the criminal masterminds killing our planet. This season focuses particularly on wildlife trafficking. The trade in rare and endangered animals is now one of the main threats to the world’s biodiversity. An illegal animal market thriving on social networks.
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