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As his business expanded, he also started visiting Africa to purchase ivory more cheaply at source. The Customs officer who facilitated clearance in Vietnam was a relative. He added he was planning to visit Mozambique to start trading rhino horn. Everyone wants money, but money is not everything. The brand name is more important. Able to move consignments across borders to end markets, close connections to corrupt officers and also engaged in direct trade in wildlife.

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He is directly involved in the sourcing and export of ivory and rhino horn from Africa. Son claimed to have successfully exported shipments of ivory from Nigeria to Vietnam. In an attempt to expand his activities in Mozambique, he entered into a partnership with Nguyen Thanh Trung in early He continues to scope new source areas and products and recently conducted a trial export of goods from Nigeria and clearance of 20 tonnes of pangolin scales from Malaysia in October He collaborates with Le Thi Thanh Hai, who operates the Laotian route, involving clearance at Wattay International Airport in Vientiane and land transportation through Laos-Vietnam border gate and onward transportation to warehouses in Vietnam.

He may also negotiate with the trader to buy the goods himself to augment his wholesale trade. Son also utilizes Malaysia as a transhipment route in partnership with a Malaysian national, Teo Boon Ching, who provides clearance for goods from Africa and then onwards into Laos by air cargo. He also claimed he had received three tonnes of ivory over a two-week period in October using the Malaysia-Vietnam route as well as 1.

If there were 1, tonnes, they could also cut them up. If they can buy and pay later, they will buy all up. The ivory allegedly entered Vietnam in shipping containers and still had traces of wax, suggesting this was part of the concealment process. Owned by Son, EIA observed about kg of illegal ivory allegedly a portion of a further 1. In November , along with three other Vietnamese nationals, Chien was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment for his role in the investment and transportation of kg of ivory in Hanoi in January Independent operator Countries of operation: Vietnam, Mozambique Type of contraband: Ivory, rhino horn, canines, claws.

Trung operates independently, sourcing ivory and rhino horn from local Mozambican traders and either selling it to the highest Vietnamese bidder in Mozambique or shipping it to Vietnam himself. He has worked with multiple syndicates implicated in large-scale organised trafficking from Mozambique into Vietnam. With the intention of directly sourcing illegal ivory and cutting out any intermediaries, Trung claimed he travels to remote areas himself to actively recruit local villagers to poach elephants and other wildlife in Mozambique and South Africa. In February , Trung was operating out of Maputo and had five employees on his payroll, including a Vietnamese ivory carver.

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Load the shipping containers with the contraband, using the name of the local company on paperwork and misdeclaring the contents as legal commodities. Pay the agreed bribe to the Customs officer at the chosen port of exit in Mozambique so the containers with the contraband are exported quickly without being checked. According to Trung, Nam provides legal support for Vietnamese syndicates. He advises them on how to arrange shipments passenger luggage and how to avoid being charged if arrested by checking in the passenger and the luggage separately.

Nam represents individuals who have been arrested and charged with smuggling in South Africa and Mozambique. On the Vietnam side, Trung stated it is safer to transport illegal goods to Vietnam than to China. He explained that he had contacts at all the key border points in Vietnam and, given his transport network across Vietnam, he also claimed to able to smuggle goods into China from Vietnam.

There should not be any problems. Not linked to a single syndicate, able to source ivory and other wildlife from Africa and sell in Asia.

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Dang is an expert in using sophisticated methods to conceal ivory and rhino horn in shipments from Africa to Vietnam and was taught the tricks of the trade by his brother, who has been in the business for several years. Dang has provided his packing services on a freelance basis, although previously he was employed by Nguyen Mau Chien, a principal wildlife trafficking kingpin previously mentioned for his role in packing ivory in Pemba and Maputo in Mozambique. A key facilitator for trafficking ivory at a large scale, Dang was only brought in to begin the work of packing when at least kg of ivory had been collected.

When he used stone, Dang explained, it was essential to procure silicone moulds of different shapes. These were then sent to Mozambique from Vietnam, although Dang said he could also make these moulds in Mozambique if the required materials were available. Dang described the process in significant detail. The ivory or rhino horn is first dipped into melted wax to create a protective layer, then — using the moulds and composite materials such as stone, fibre glass or plaster — the ivory or horn is concealed inside what appears to be a large single piece of stone.

With timber, logs are hollowed out and the ivory or rhino horn is placed in the hollow before the logs are seal and painted. Whichever concealment method used, the paperwork declares the contents as exports of legitimate goods quartz or timber. In February , following an order from Chien, Dang and another associate accompanied three suitcases containing about kg of rhino horn from Mozambique to Vietnam. Dang stated he was specifically directed not to check in the suitcase himself at the airport; instead, the luggage was checked in by another person but tagged with the name and details of Dang.

On arrival at the airport in Hanoi, Dang and his colleague picked up the suitcases by checking the luggage codes and he was directed to exit through a specified gate at the airport. There were people to buy the goods and put them in warehouse.

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I just went to the warehouse to pack and put the goods into stone. After a month, when we packed enough goods, they would send the container out, but that was their business. How long would it take you to pack one tonne of goods? In April , we began a two-year investigation into Vietnamese-led syndicates trafficking ivory and other illegal wildlife from Africa to Asia.

Posing as wildlife traders, our investigators sought to infiltrate the different layers of ivory trafficking syndicates, from lowly packers to well-connected transporters and syndicate bosses. The aim was to build up an understanding of the methods used and the scale of operations. Through a series of meetings in Mozambique, Vietnam and Malaysia, we gained unique insights into the structure of Vietnamese ivory smuggling groups, the different functions within the groups, major trafficking routes and concealment methods, prices for ivory at different stages in the supply chain and links to other forms of wildlife crime.

Detailed activity of the ivory traffickers encountered by EIA are set out in this report. Key modus operandi include:. EIA has identified a number of major routes in use by the Vietnamese syndicates to traffic ivory from African countries through Malaysia and Laos before reaching Vietnam for sale in-country or for onward transportation into China.

These criminals make use of sea, air and land routes. Depending on their role, the syndicates will then use their connections to different customs authorities or clearing agents to facilitate the passage of the illicit ivory across border points by air, sea or by road. Once the illicit ivory consignments arrive in Vietnam, the syndicates will sell the ivory at wholesale prices to buyers.

Sophisticated methods of concealment and specialist transporters are used to traffic contraband along multiple routes to avoid detection. Some of these include:. Download the full report, detailing the results of our investigations. This includes references and picture credits. The growing role of Vietnamese syndicates in ivory trafficking.

We investigated a complex network of Vietnamese-led ivory trafficking syndicates. Some prominent individuals include:. Head Countries of operation: Vietnam, Mozambique, South Africa Type of contraband: Ivory, rhino horn, canines, claws Summary Phan Chi is a major ivory and rhino horn trafficker who leads an organised criminal syndicate of at least 10 individuals soldiers.

To my warehouse, yes. You need to send two million? Malaysia Type of contraband: Ivory, rhino horn Summary Malaysian national Teo Boon Ching has been involved in the wildlife trade for two decades with business links in Guangzhou, China and Bangkok, Thailand. Teo uses Malaysia-based companies to receive shipping containers from Africa.

He provides concealment and packing instructions to clients to smuggle ivory: Ivory, rhino horn Summary Tho reportedly hails from a family of wildlife smugglers and became involved in the family business when he was a university student, helping his uncle transport tiger and other illegal wildlife products.

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Ivory, rhino horn, canines, claws Summary Trung operates independently, sourcing ivory and rhino horn from local Mozambican traders and either selling it to the highest Vietnamese bidder in Mozambique or shipping it to Vietnam himself. Worker Countries of operation: Mozambique, Vietnam Type of contraband: Ivory Summary Dang is an expert in using sophisticated methods to conceal ivory and rhino horn in shipments from Africa to Vietnam and was taught the tricks of the trade by his brother, who has been in the business for several years.

Key modus operandi include: The Vietnamese-led wildlife crime syndicates active in Africa conform to a loose hierarchical structure of roles and responsibilities Poaching and collection: The Vietnamese syndicates are involved at the lower level with soldiers despatched to important hubs such as Maputo for months at a time to gather and pack ivory for shipment Concealment: Vietnamese syndicates use sophisticated concealment methods for ivory shipped in containers; hollowed-out logs, stacks of sawn timber and the use of fake stones are notable examples Diversification: It does so innovatively in a variety of written styles and from a wide range of international perspectives.

It will be of interest to the specialist and the general reader alike. This volume would be a great text for both educators and students to explore the multiple ways and means English has impacted on indigenous language loss. I look forward to a third book in the series. The authors would doubtlessly view any irritation at the stridently polemical tone of this book as exactly what one would expect from the Financial Times, a prominent participant in the anglophone ascendancy.

So we should say at once that Why English? With schools and universities in Latin America, continental Europe and Asia rushing to embrace English, it is appropriate to ask whether they are going about it in the right way and for the right reasons.

The Hydra in the Classroom | Word on Fire

In highlighting the dangers of linguistic imperialism associated with English and other dominant languages in this volume, the contributors draw our attention to the insidious effects of monster languages and their destructive power. Such a spotlighting of issues surrounding language endangerment in diverse parts of the world and calls for multilingual education by various contributors to this volume are vitally important in an increasingly globalized world. At a time when the merits of globalisation are being questioned, this volume presents a wideranging and thought-provoking set of articles questioning the received wisdom of such widespread acceptance of the merits of English and reasons for choosing to embrace English in the first place.

As anyone at all familiar with the academic discourse in the teaching of the English language will immediately understand, this is the latest endeavour by people who have not accepted the hegemony of English without question: Indeed, writers, like Robert Phillipson and Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, have been raising key questions about this hegemony for a long time. It is likely to stir their emotions as well as leading them to reflect. Her doctoral research examined the reading challenges posed by an alphabetic script for Chinese learners of English in Hong Kong.

He has published extensively on language learning, linguistic imperialism, linguistic human rights, multilingual education and language policy.