The Poachers Pipeline
Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit goes undercover to expose the traffickers behind the rhino horn trade and the corruption that makes it possible.
Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit exposes the people and powers behind the illegal trade of one of the world’s most valuable substances – rhino horn. In The Poachers Pipeline, Al Jazeera goes undercover to penetrate the criminal pipelines that traffic horn, from a fresh kill in Africa to a sale in Asia. Ground zero for the rhino crisis is South Africa’s Kruger National Park – where poachers kill two or three rhino every night. They hack off the horns, sometimes while the animal is still alive, and within hours the illicit goods are in the hands of a trafficker. Our undercover reporter, made contact with a senior trafficker – known by law enforcement as a level 3 exporter – who shares his secrets on how to get horn out of Africa and how to bribe his way out of trouble. He even claims to have a powerful contact in South Africa’s state security. The rhino horn trade is made possible by corruption at every step of the chain and by an insatiable demand that goes to the very top of Chinese society.