To go on aljazeera. Hello and welcome again to rewind on of the product since the launch of knowledge back in 2006 were built up a library of Award Winning films and here on rewind live revisiting some of the best of the today were reminded to 2013 when we went undercover on a wildlife smuggling trail stretching from madagascar off the southeast coast of africa across asia to malaysia on the trail of a man known as the Pablo Escobar of reptile smuggling. Well Global Wildlife trafficking is estimated to be worth billions of dollars every year almost as lucrative as the trade and Illegal Drugs and arms a key destination for wildlife traffickers as madagascar over 90 percent of the countrys animals all found anywhere else making them a prize catch for smugglers including anson wong the man named the lizard king would jailed after a sting operation in 1908 he was soon back in business before being arrested again in malaysia and 2010 at an aljazeera and best occasion in 2013 travail that those arrests and subsequent convictions did not put an end to his smuggling korea from the 11 east series his return of the lizard king. In all his years of drug there is one place the lizard king has always returned to. Valley bay lies in a remote corner of madagascar off the southeast coast of africa. Its home to the ploughshare the worlds rarest tortoise that distinction makes them target number one france it was. Weve come with members of drought a Conservation Group spearheading the fight to save the species. To fight off. Robert brew and his team used radio receivers to track the ones theyve managed to tag its estimated there are only 400. 00 adults left in the wild. A ploughshare are made especially vulnerable because theyre only found in this small area of sand and scrub and. Right there the 1st we come upon its a tiny one turns out to be just a few months old. And. Some of those who worked with ants and wong in the past tell us that because a rare species he collects goodies plusher tortoise is perhaps the most valuable of all goodies when this guy or girl grows up to be an adult he or she could be worth tens of thousands of u. S. Dollars and if it was back. To real says smugglers including wong started coming to these shores in the 1980 s. Just as the group was publishing reports over how endangered the species had become. Endangered means high profits for poachers and the rule believes has made millions selling plowshares off to be legal pet trade. Their beautiful shells make it easy to see why they are considered the jewel in the crown of the reptile world. So when you hear about people like ants and long making lots of money from these polisher tortoises. What is that doing your mind once that is your heart. Is its not. But i want to take a gun and kill him. If you feel that strongly about. Nearby breeding and rescue center we find pens full of them were saved from poachers. The rate of smuggling is so high his sheer madagascars government for bid the group from releasing any back into the wild. In the lab there is a photo warning workers to be on the lookout for this man its anson was. That photograph is there in terms of you know if this man turns up be it be careful. In 199672 plow shares restored from this center in the most brazen reptile robbery in history while no one was ever caught one was later found trying to sell a number of them. Hes almost public enemy number one for us in terms of his reputation even if half the stories are true then the scale of operation this man has been operating around the world and this and in madagascar is you know is mind blowing. It was a shipment of plow shares to the u. S. Among some other exotic animals that led to the lizard kings 1st arrest in 1908. It followed a 5 year undercover sting where wildlife officers posed as dealers to lure one a malaysian citizen to america. In Court Officers testified one promised them he could get anything from anywhere. In the end he pled guilty to 40 counts of illegally importing endangered species and was sentenced to almost 6 years in prison. Is all im going to market our army. Or a reckless you know walker. Who doesnt foster who. This man who well call x worked with wong for years and describes what drives him. As more. Sensitive to working. Order country. Besides the ploughshare madagascar is also home to many other unique species. 90 percent of the countrys animals are found nowhere else in the world an irresistible draw says that for the lizard king. And so is in madagascar as capital we begin gaining access to his network and tracking down a man who since being carter has learned to be far more loose in. The rough to meet someone whos promised to take us to some smugglers and his job is to pack the tortoises before shipment weve told him that were interested buyers he believes that hes taking some customers to meet his bosses. Have a. Reason not appearing nervous the man guides us through the crowded streets to a factory. I know next year. But it mario introduces himself as a businessman. Using hitting cameras we film is operation which he says exploits seafood and reptiles. We also learn hes the son of a president ial candidate. Number one. Im going to. My home in his office mario is the 1st to mention the man were after. Ok ok you know i do you know him nothing. With. Her eye. Mario offers to put us in touch with one of his associates. The next evening we meet that associate in a hotel room where he presents us with samples. Per. Their radiated tortoises the 2nd most endangered in madagascar according to International Law exploiting them from the country is illegal but. Still the deal of promise is not only a steady supply but hundreds for shipment. The preacher. He also says his contacts at the airport will ensure they get through security checks. For. A very. Few friends here. It confirms something extort us earlier. One of our customs in all these countries orders customs. Theyre paid off you know. Where you need to get something got. What you can get them but theyre supposed to be in for doing. Your course or youre also corrupt. Both x. And the dealer explained the typical route for smuggling same carriers or mules checking the tortoises in suitcases in madagascar. From there he says the bags transit through a number of other cities by darussalam and dubai before entering asia. Shipments were told end up in his home country of malaysia where they are then sold on to buyers around the world. Of india. Cirrus a honda resort says she was once an unwilling participant in long criminal dealings a student from madagascar desperate for money she says she agreed to meet him at this hotel. Back in 2010 sara says she and another woman were taken to a room and offered for. 100. 00 each to carry shipments for wong to malaysia the cases she says were packed without her involvement. Subtlety coolly only knew it was animals i didnt ask the details as to which kind of any laws were inside. While their 1st trip in 2010 proved uneventful sarah says it was her 2nd trip to malaysia a few weeks later that things went wrong. Soon after touching down Customs Officials singled her out. So soft and before we could take away the luggage it was picked by suspection and they saw it was not simple luggage but was full of anyone else. Among the cash authorities found 300 radiated tortoises and a number of ploughshare. Sarah was convicted of smuggling and was jailed for 8 months. The same year the sarah was arrested the lizard king himself ran afoul of the law. In a separate incident one was caught with dozens of snakes on a plane for which he had no license for. A raid of his properties uncovered even more. A malaysian judge gave him a 5 year sentence but he served just 17 months. According to sources one of the mr kings biggest customers lives in indonesia bustling capital. We arrive just of the city is hosting a reptile exhibit. Which. Despite this being a government sanctioned event it doesnt take long for us to find illegal animals for sale. Yet it will be including tortoises from madagascar. Still undercover as a dealer we head for one of the biggest group. But we sit down for a meeting you know with daniel and you would judge or you know as and how you know its a. Long. Long time a long time but you know not only does daniel readily admit that to Work Together but we notice hes also wearing a shirt from madagascar and saying doesnt go on her so still to still doing out there there then something that surprises even us daniel admits the 2010 shipment of snakes which landed anson in prison was destined for his shock even you know you hear oh yeah hes my. My friend. If you think ok you know if they go. Pick your biggest or manny means like they were your snakes there are i read about that on wire. Daniel also claims that after his last conviction was wife is increasingly taking over the operations he way he went but are always right and i sales are tiles ok all right and it works out its time to get a little closer. To our 1st stop is once Rural Property in penang is back hills. We need to see whether hes returned to his life of crime as some say or leading a reform life. 2010 when Law Enforcement officers busted into this place he found 2 things tigers it was a crocodile question now its his that sort of thing still going on for. An hour later after hiking through the hills we stumble on a number of cages. And then we spot an enclosure. Heres a tortoise inside. Evidence that one is at least keeping animals. Further on we find a row of newer enclosures its hard to make out what they are so we creep closer. The animals have distinctive ears we show our photos later to experts who tell us these are servile cats from north africa. Following his 2010 conviction malaysias government banned wong and his wife. From Holding Business and wildlife trading permits. Yet someone in government did knowingly sign off on new licenses are search of public records found that both anson and his wife have had several business permits renewed from the bookit jumbo reptile sanctuary. To errol flynn. To c. B. S. Wildlife. Posing as customers we visit the penang address listed for the company. There we find answers wife being she almost immediately she confirms she and her husband are still trading in florida router wherever. There. Are documents search also and covers another company rono wildlife it was formed after wongs 2010 conviction listed owner is a name we dont recognize. But trading permits show it exports the same animals as anson did to the same us customers he had before his arrest. I think the door might be open so. Wrong his address is listed on the upper floor of a commercial strip in the name and of somebody there for sure. From the street we can make out aquariums and cages leading us to believe animals are being kept there. And there. We find a worker or i have got horror now. Whatever that was more than happy to show off known as current stars. There are many albino pythons some 30 feet long all of them require permits. And then we confirmed the real person behind roma. Your boss is mr wong. Mr wall. As it was and as. We show our findings to end surendra a lawyer and opposition member of parliament. In malaysia the fact that is being open again indicates corruption for years surrendered has publicly raised the need to investigate the countrys Wildlife Department for hillary accusing them of aiding and abetting one so he seems to be able to operate above the law and beyond the law in malaysia how is that possible it is impossible without the complicity of all the authorities throughout our year long investigation which involved lengthy stakeouts in several countries we never caught sight of the lizard king this despite frequent reports from sources that he was in the area. Finally we tracked him down into name mr long steep challenge from the program when hes terry you would love to ask you a question if we can know are you still involved in the trade direction or again just. To talk to you sir can you tell us what role no walmart fears. And why why are there all by no i thought arms had run a wildlife and according to the government youre not supposed to be trading in wildlife lawsuits woman. Are you admitting ask the government are you saying youre doing nothing wrong. And i have no comment. Also to jumble passbook jumbo is that your company. Company. Or several companies to help you including rona wildlife do you no comment. Sir are you still involved in the trade directing an endangered species. That. You understood one of his workers along with his wife tries to stop us from filming out there so youve served time in jail sir wall grows increasingly aggressive obligations while were on public property sir so were out there because im here on public property dont push us or youre on public property. Or were on the property. Just as quickly though the bats are certain can you tell us what this box is for. Search these are serious questions we understand that you have served time for a number of these crimes and the question is are you still involved in the trade of endangered species its the most will get from here sir but not once did long denied he was back in the reptile trade. Some questions left unanswered is whether his dealings would be possible without the help of authorities and why despite. Her obvious involvement his wife has never been brought up on charges so you are the official owner of the no run a wild life. You know. Why is there maam. What is clear is that the lizard king and his associates continue to operate just as they have for death. Trading in selling off the worlds most endangered creatures at will. That was return of the lizard king from one of one east back in 2013 little is known today of ants and was whereabouts but he seems to have lost his standing as the kingpin of wildlife trafficking joining us now from kuala lumpur is steve child followed one for a year and steve you went undercover over the course of the year following all was its so important for you to make this film and take the risks that you took while elizabeth we were hearing from a lot of environmental groups around the world about how serious the wildlife trafficking situation was becoming many people were linking the wildlife trafficking trade to other major crimes like the trafficking of arms and the trafficking of drugs and saying that it was on the same level and that organized crime syndicates were getting involved that was sort of the impetus for us to start looking at this and then when were trying to sort of target or pinpoint people who are involved in the trade and since were and someones name kept coming up so we decided to try to infiltrate his network and find out what was going on whether he is still involved in wildlife trafficking we simply do not know what we do know is that after we ran our film malaysian authorities did charge the director of a company that hanssen long was affiliated or linked to as well as they did also charge his former wife for possession of endangered animals after several years of delays in the courts that malaysian director of the. Company pled guilty to possession and willingly agreed to pay a fine of 10000. 00 u. S. Dollars plus of the prosecution however dropped the charges against anson wongs former wife so the film did have some impact but of course not the kind of impact thats need and where do things stand and the nation now stephen where does that figure and Global Wildlife trafficking malaysia still remains a key transit hub for evil legal wildlife being trafficked the way it works we understand is that poachers there are poaching wildlife from africa or other parts of asia are shipping it through malaysia as well as other countries in Southeast Asia on to destination points in terms of places where buyers are are acquiring this so malaysia still remains a problem country there has been a lot of work done by the un and others to train customs officers here and to create more of a diligence if you will to keep tabs on customs officers so that they arent on the take however that is a challenge we understand throughout much of the world especially in Southeast Asia so what were seeing is that a lot of the poachers there are trafficking their goods through these places and once authorities seize some of the shipments then that is switched to another countries some of the Key Countries are seeing you know the continually popping up are malaysia thailand laos vietnam and these are just some of them that are key problem cities countries if you will and steve who is driving the market. Well thats a very good question it is extremely varied depending on the wildlife and the type of wildlife were talking about if were talking about wildlife use for the descent all purposes such as pangolin scales or rhino horns that are rubbed down into medicine the key markets are vietnam and china predominately as well as other parts of asia if were talking about the trafficking of pets you know pets illegally taken from places that that then that becomes much more global so were talking about you know interest out of collectors in the middle east collectors in europe the u. S. And also in parts of asia as well in terms of how much this Illicit Trade is worth annually we are dealing with a tsunami the numbers are staggering were talking about upwards of 200. 00 species of flora and fauna that are going extinct every 24 hours thats about 1000. 00 times the natural progression if you will of any extinction that weve seen on the planet and a lot of that is attributed to wildlife trafficking we know what more can be done about it you know the key people say is corruption corruption corruption is the main problem if you know Customs Officials if the government officials in various countries you know stop you know taking in the bribes if they actually you know stop the shipments then perhaps we can put an end to this but at this moment its not happening Richard Lewis you know we spent some time with him in madagascar for this film and when we were out in the jungles with him you know we looked at the ploughshare tortoise one of these very wanted you know animals and at the time of filming there were about 400 ploughshare tortoises left in the wild only 400 but as of now we understand that number is down to 50 and that species is on the brink of extinction and thats the heartbreaking part thank you very much steve and thats it from us but do join us again next week and check out the rewind page at aljazeera dot com for more films from the scenes but for now thanks for joining us and see you again 7. Its the u. K. s biggest hospital with eventual capacity for 4000 covert 19 patients built inside a London Conference Center it took just 9 days to construct with the help of Army Engineers dramatically expanding the Critical Care bed count and other similar sites on the way the actual london numbers could be much higher than advertised researches say that huge gaps in Testing Capacity that the government is now trying to close extrapolate that across the country and the spread of corona virus appears far wider than anyone thought. Frank assessments tourism income stream is dead in the water whats been the result in poaching go up quite significantly informed opinions there has been a very aggressive political rhetoric that has become very normal in Israeli Society indepth analysis of the days global headlines its time for new policy its day on treat i think not only we seem to grady weeks brittany best ability of it all continues inside story on aljazeera in a 2 part series. On video observes the lives of 2 children. Over 20 years. Where insights into circumstances that shaped lives. In a rapidly changing world. 20 years of. Starts with blood and land to build a story on how to 0. In a highly controversial move israel is expected to our next several illegal settlements in the occupied west bank. As nothing youngs government tests the limits of regional diplomacy and security will this mean an end to the 2 state solution. Israel and its a ship on a jersey. Lazarus check is declared the president of malawi making it the 1st african nation to elect an Opposition Leader and a Court Ordered rerun. Time about this and this is all to syria live from doha also coming up a sharp rise in corona virus cases the u. S. Records 125000 deaths and 2500000 infections. Russia denies claims that it spies offered bounties to taliban linked fighters in afghanistan to kill u. S. Coalition