Across southern Africa, the Amitofo Care Centre, an NGO founded by a Taiwanese monk, has established a series of residential schools for orphans and at-risk children in the area. Over time, the school has become increasingly staffed by those from mainland China—and in Malawi, some of them have groomed students to help a vast ivory-and-animal smuggling operation. Rachel Nuwer is the perfect reporter for this feature, having written the literal book on wildlife trafficking; here, she blends solid sourcing and spare scenework for a fascinating story.
When the officers stopped the car, they found Lin’s baby-faced driver, Jimmy Nkwezalamba, at the steering wheel. In the back seat, they discovered three live pangolins in a bag. As the police placed Nkwezalamba under arrest, Lin was bombarding his employee’s phone with WhatsApp voice notes demanding to know what was taking so long for his dinner to arrive, inadvertently implicating himself. At the police station, Nkwezalamba also admitted that Lin sent him to smuggle pangolins over the border with Mozambique. At one point, he said, there were 40 live pangolins at Lin’s farm, waiting to be sold to restaurants.
My Road Trip With the Do-Gooding Cactus Smugglers
“Can poaching ever be ethical?”
A Vintage Watch Broke Auction Records. Then the Rumours Started.
“As demand for luxury watches has rocketed, the business has become beset by skulduggery.”
The Grab List: How Museums Decide What to Save in a Disaster
“Billions of dollars’ worth of art is imperilled by climate change. Curators will have to make sacrifices.”
The Great Syrian Beach Trip
“A visit to the seaside once risked arrest and torture. Now people are soaking up the sun.”
The Kremlin Put Her on Trial. She Stole the Show.
“Why did the Russian state go after an experimental theatre director?”
Dying for Gold: Who Killed the Miners of Buffelsfontein?
“South Africa’s government blockaded hundreds underground. The results were deadly.”
