Anson Pleads Guilty
September 2nd, 2010Anson Wong has pled guilty. Story in The Star.
Undercover agents.
Criminal masterminds.
Turtles.
On the surface, Strictly Reptiles of Hollywood, Florida is the world's largest reptile import-export company, legally selling hundreds of thousands of snakes, spiders, and other creepy crawlies each year, and the likely source behind the green iguana or turtle in your local pet store.
But to Special Agent Chip Bepler of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, owner Mike Van Nostrand and his father are the brains and bank behind a vast global wildlife smuggling network.
In THE LIZARD KING, author Bryan Christy takes readers on a wild ride into a criminal jungle extending from South Florida through Europe, terminating in a Southeast Asian mastermind, "the Pablo Escobar of wildlife trafficking," who uses cheap reptiles as a front to traffic the world's most precious animals, including rhinos, pandas, and snow leopards.
THE LIZARD KING is the true story of crafty smugglers supplying rare animals to collectors and zoo curators worldwide; it is the story of an amazing multi-million dollar industry in genetically-designed snakes selling for $100,000; and it is a story of obsession.
And not just the bad guys'. In researching this book, Christy was bitten between the eyes by a blood python, chased by a mother alligator, sprayed by a bird-eating tarantula, and ejaculated on by a Bengal tiger. The result is a story that will fascinate and amaze you.
Read More Behind The Lizard King››
Wildlife Department Says Never Had a Chance Before
August 30th, 2010Speaking on behalf of the Wildilfe Department, Deputy Director General Misliah Mohd Basir says (read the story in the Malay Mail):
“We are not protecting Wong. We could not detain him before as there was no evidence. However, that changed last Thursday,” Perhilitan deputy director-general Misliah Mohamad Basir told The Malay Mail.”
Misliah: “Perhilitan only approved a ’special licence’ to Wong to take care of his own pets.”
Failure to obtain evidence despite Anson’s years of confessed smuggling, and this latest activity, suggest Perhilitan is incapable of making an effective investigation of wildlife trafficking in Malaysia. The species at issue in this case are not from Malaysia, they are mostly South American, just as many of the species Anson trafficked in the past were from New Zealand, Australia, Madagascar, Africa, China, South America, and on… Anson is not Malaysia’s only illegal wildlife trafficker, either.
The failure by Perhilitan to make cases is what makes Malaysia an illegal wildlife trafficking hub for global traffickers, placing species across the planet at risk, including recently rhino horn and elephant ivory trafficked through Malaysia.
Anson Wong Caught
August 29th, 2010Anson Wong has been arrested. He was caught after his luggage, containing South American boa constrictors, venomous vipers and a Peruvian mata mata turtle broke on an airport conveyor belt.
Photo: The Star
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