man of war vietnam weapons cache location

Later that year marine turtles joined tigers, elephants, bears, and pangolins on Vietnam’s list of fully protected species. But in early 2014 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung publicly stated his intention to dismantle organized criminal trafficking of protected animals. Vietnam is a major force in the illegal wildlife trade, serving as a supplier, consumer, and transit country for illicit animal products moving from greater Southeast Asia into China. “This case is our litmus test,” Hendrie says, “a way to say, OK, Vietnam, show us that you’re serious about dismantling this trade like you say you are.” ENV spearheaded the investigation and was Mr. “You can nail the middle and low-level players all you want, but you’re not going to have an impact on the trade unless you go after the people who are behind it,” says Douglas Hendrie, technical adviser with the nonprofit group Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV), which is based in Hanoi. K’s investigation revealed evidence that a wealthy local businessman is the criminal mastermind.Īlmost all were either fully or partially taxidermied, bound for China to be sold as trophies.Īs months have turned into years, and the case continues to stagnate, conservationists have come to see it as representative of Vietnam’s failure to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. That was in November 2014, and Vietnam has yet to arrest or prosecute anyone for the crime, despite the fact that Mr. The police eventually tallied some 7,000-the largest cache of marine turtles ever found. (He asked that his real name not be used because he continues to lead undercover investigations in Vietnam.)Ī second raid the following month at a nearby farm uncovered even more dead turtles. “To see so many marine turtles, well, it was shocking. Two of the three warehouses revealed such a scene. The second was the sight of the sea turtles themselves-thousands of those endangered animals, stacked one atop the other right up to the roof. K was the smell: an intense chemical reek, mingled with the stench of death. After leading a three-year undercover investigation of sea turtle smuggling in Vietnam, his home country, those efforts had finally yielded tips from informants, landing him on the doorstep of three warehouses in a rural area outside Nha Trang, a beach town in Khanh Hoa Province, about 250 miles northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.Īs the police wrenched open the door, the first thing that struck Mr.

K had never imagined it would be this bad.

Man of war vietnam weapons cache location