48 teams. you're watching news from berlin coming up next the organized crime gangs driving the trade and poached why no horns are documentary after the break i'm terry martin thanks for being with us. after. shifting powers from the old order is history the world is religion izing itself and the media's role is keep the topic in focus of the global media forum 29 teams today one out of 2 people is online who are we following whom do we trust to beijing and shape the future at the georgia dome a global media forum 2019. march

7th 201740 kilometers outside of paris. it was a news item the chocked not only wildlife lovers a case no detective had ever imagined taking on. you'll see it. all suits your height to die cooling of some home office or shift in baku you should treat things to him as he would you to he. means a placid giant weighing 100 i have tons had been found shot dead for his 2 kilos of horn a contract killing carried out in cold blood a short time ago they were calling this trying to figure out what weapon was used what truly might have been used to truck off the horn. the lamp a news family the owners of the zoo were left in shock because some possible it's

unthinkable that men can come into a see you in a western country and kill a rhino all colleagues in zoos across europe are all so anxious will scare no one to still not know. who killed vince the rhinoceros who stood to profit from the crime this is an investigation into one of the most lucrative forms of trafficking in the world.

in europe the french case was a 1st in africa it's routine. there are one rhino always killed every 8 hours solely for its heart. the rhino horn trade was banned 40 years ago but in asia the horn sells at up 230000 euros a kilo as expensive as gold or heroin. brits like the gold rush at the moment if you weren't planning on board to make the stronger dollars. it's a global market where horns can fetch a half a 1000000 euros each. enough to corrupt police officers judges and senior

politicians and people think to say look at it is just killing off the i.m.f. but the east coast national organized crime at the highest level over a period of 2 years we infiltrated the rhinoceros mafia in the process gaining the trust of poachers. especially when i seem to hate us so much they jumped up till. we came face to face with an implacable foe in a bloody war revealing a new branch of organized crime. one with appalling consequences the extinction of the rhinoceros appears to be merely a question of time. the

principal front in the war against the horn traders is being fought here in south africa. the country is home to 80 percent of the world's rhinos. kruger park famous for its foreigner to you while you can be game is also the main theater of this massacre 504 rhinos were illegally slaughtered here in 2017. this morning a new carcass has been discovered. the park has its own crime squad to carry out on top zoos and investigations. this is an adult animal having a look at the feet the size of the lawn in excess of 1015 years old at least. so it was an adult. if you look at the way these holes were removed they're almost cut off with a life there's no damage or any tears but the front of one was taken off the next

it was chopped off with it at. the crime scene is sealed off and documented like with a homicide the rangers take d.n.a. samples collect the bullet casings and secure fingerprints and other forensic evidence and get used to a lot of things to get used to the smell but you can never get used to that the slaughter of these animals because that's what it is it's on a daily basis they face they slaughter them they kill them just for that this will . there now remain just 20000 rhinoceroses in south africa. and the country is losing over $1000.00 a year to poachers. unless action is taken the species will be extinct in 20 years. than come.

inside kruger park each ranger must keep watch over 40 square kilometers of course a daunting task and a dangerous one. the rangers are effectively soldiers. kollywood b.c. is one of the few who have the courage to speak out. most of these are just fear that this indicates so probably go for their families their kids because some of them. they live close to some of these that syndicates that killing that analyst so i wouldn't want to be shown so in my case i have made up my mind that i'll show my face is as many times as i couldn't and didn't if somebody does

something and i need to held him accountable. today these rangers are on the front line of a war they have not been trained or equipped to fight. facing them is an invisible and ruthless enemy the forces of the market. major as ever ratios appetite for rhino horn the prime markets are china and vietnam. you know nori everyone knows where you can get hold of a commodity and the price is soaring. it's an illegal here flourishing business customers are from the elite of society.

talking about it is considered taboo. the. news business man has agreed to talk to us on the condition of anonymity he takes rhino horn as a miracle medicine. that's it i. know horn is a gift from god we get the it's one of the best remedies in the world so ground down into a powder it cleanses the brain. sure i wouldn't compare it to the discovery of penicillin but it nonetheless saves thousands of lives so it is as valuable as penicillin. the horn is ground into powder or simply rubbed it's mixed with water or alcohol and then drunk. well that my mother also takes

me drinking a little every day for the last 40 years and i have been sick once. rhinoceros horn is nothing more than carrot in the same substance in human fingernails no credible study has ever proved its much a claim benefits and yet consumption has rocketed in vietnam over the last 10 years . works with the vietnamese office of a german development agency and is studied the phenomenon for the young sociologist the miracle product rhino horn is a stroke of marketing genius on the part of the traffickers somebody said that one of the high ranking up. and recover from cancer after bringing light on power but. i only hope that it's out of you and in recent years that i want to try it out they said that right on. it could have enhanced actual points of mouth.

and also right on it and we can't cure cancer but isn't according to the. idea a no from oration or medicine to be a. rhino horn is in big demand among all segments of society it's become the must have accessory for chic parties the reflection of a certain social status. if. you want to move business the local people to be a part of a high ranking officer. no deal in this expensive party procedure what sort of expense it brings and learn a whole part of a. corner has become a symbol of power and corruption the perfect alchemy of crime.

it's 10000 kilometers away in south africa that the gangsters operate aided by the country's situation of fragility. behind the modern western for assad born into south africans live on less than one euro a day. a quarter of a century after the official end of apartheid violence racial tensions and corruption are destabilizing the country. colonel johan used to of the directorate for priority crime investigation is all too aware of the situation. he heads a unit specially dedicated to combat ing rhino horn trafficking. your honest work has a shocking level of crime with 25 murders a day. unsurprisingly it's also the hub of the trafficking business.

the majority of rhino horns passed through here on their way to asia. and. the horn trafficking trade is a niche of crime carried out in the shadows. the conspiracy of silence means that the police have to recruit informants. just. like a key to civilization political skills to surviving that this is a little. kernel you know stern has received a tip off about a sale about to take place near the airport just the traffickers are in a hotel. ok ok we're going in so you can come now watch out they don't get away just. explain. just

millions can't go. home if you say. the suspects have just left the hotel the horn was hidden in their pick up they were hoping to were in the equivalent of 5 years' salary instead they're now facing 10 years in jail before take place on the horn is fake. we will do the city list. you know that you're on the list with the legal position of i know understand you know that . the 2 men will be tried in court but others will replace them they're just one link you know long chain. it's similar to drug trafficking and and firearm trafficking the concept of false national organized crime remains the same

people think this should look at it as just the killing of or after i know but we look at the total supply chain in terms of lease killing it how do they get it file as we do date delivery to the transporters it is part of the supply chain that we need to disrupt because all of those places east just as important as with that line of got killed. organized crime spins its way with a network of middlemen on every continent. to foil customs controls the horns or transited through europe or america before reaching asia. more often than not they creep below the radar. just like the money the infamous rhino dollars. meter national community in appears powerless. in the hague in the

netherlands the wildlife justice commission wants to change things by targeting the traffickers boces. the n.g.o.s founded in 2015 brings together intelligence experts the police and lawyers assisting governments in the war on crimes against endangered species. one of the commission's top agents is a man who goes by the name of meaning. he works undercover and has managed to penetrate the inner circle of a rhino horn mafia game. my job as undercover investigator from the field i dressed like a plot of crimes 3 things to do while the traders understand that are clear hard to understand how the criminals operate touch the bad guys of the wildlife from and also the kind of ours to do exactly what it was like treacle do what a criminal or to. answer to so we will develop different kinds of profiles of the

tools depending on the person or any other conference the cutting off the mission has to be able to get through the. even mings most dangerous missions begin on the computer he poses as a buyer and approaches the traffickers via social media such as facebook or we chat . his current target a vietnamese horn baron code named oak. if i open up subject oak you can see. all these pictures that he has been posting pertaining to the style of rhino horn as he just posted this approximately 4 hours ago of 1.5 kilos of rhino horn and his reach out is i'm interested in this

number 20 rhino horn looking to a very quick calculation and it counts and it goes up to about a $110000.00 u.s. dollars for this far right off here the profit margin is from the heart of its business. i mean will soon be flying to be at 9. in the face of a week mobilization effort from the international community private initiatives are leading the fight. crime in south africa an army has been recruited for the purpose and none of them is a police officer or a professional soldier and yet they've chosen to join the troops of vincent park us a thorn in the side of the pro-choice that they have

a very good heart that they are going all the young guys i want to crash barges that want to put barges in general who are just doing their job trying to die why come up tomorrow morning trying to the field sleeping out in the bush is only risk every 3rd by 16 these guys with 6 strike weeks are in charge need and the new year old to go work for us every single dad in los angeles. want to do a lot but for news it runs a private militia of $350.00 men. most of whom are south africans but there are also recruits from the u.s. and europe. that means in song. active duty as a soldier in angola. today he works for a wildlife preserves with his little army. unit and one that. they're in a constant state of alert as the horn trading creasing that resembles

a guerrilla warfare. in recent years poachers of killed up to 30 rhinos a week. the slaughter is gathering pace. to meet demand. pocket oh and i. recently heard counselors. say measured in terms of kazakhstan. you trade the funk or. that another iran is going down but one step son calls being might and you know the is a did draw not from it's just work. and then you actually get one side excited but eager might be a better word now you want to see what you can find to church the 1st.

one to flee are built the same. for 3 years old for you. this was refused to let other animals call. it wasn't a kinship use and the one with you can is a different type of. owning up which isn't g.-d. all feel to she to mourn or. with a crime like this the only witness is the bush. tonight the poachers are bound to be out on the prowl it's full moon ideal like conditions

for hunting. men since men set off and spread out. all. the stakeout the roads and inspect the fences. most of our wrists 1st being on the stride. these private sector rangers have the same powers as the police been sent arrested more than 20 poachers last year. started streets against our children and streets against my wife's threats against me and since my father and mother i'm only normal streets will kill you all right your loss will do this but i don't fear them where you just get on with it or.

how many vehicles inside slowly now it's true. but not the ones we're looking for her share of. the poachers have vanished into the night. for the rangers a sleepless night with no arrests to show for it. closely . 2 sides on their feet is losing the battle against part is i think quite accurate. sir you are we. if you look at the force this year by sickly as far as your art can see you know right up to the rise

and is what trees grow to cover so they could be anybody in that. we've managed to meet this elusive enemy. we took weeks to convince to convince them to tell us about their long arms as killers. when we go into the bush. us. and. beg for food. and another one is that in the acts to cut down on and on and decide in funding but it's. just a short. list to show that i. thought there was a professional he's already shot and killed 7 rhinos for each one he earned

5000 euros the equivalent of an average annual salary here when i show up and of course i get happy when i see that i not see money in the day. as when i bought them drive nice cars to wait nice things when their money is finished and then we go ugh a. blip some peace with their balls from one zombie god to send in their weapons and people to kill and not report its like maybe 10 or 15 people is baek many many people involved. everyone can die. day for minor things but on dying full all things that is not important. in the netherlands undercover agent main has been working for a year now on the vietnamese horn behrendt. just the continual are

you want all these here or there is 0 or maybe on subjects of their own letters if i like you are friends you'll hear of sausages if you're. one year to piece together oakes network his customers suppliers sellers and competitors sometimes via social media we have seen this subject open and has been posting large quantity of roles i don't want all analysis refute that there are approximately 836 key goals to cheney 75 florins we have to us work to be in contact with him and he has agreed to meet me next week and get them and he is our client. get in on the pricing approximately how much is that bundle. and estimation is 6500000 u.s.d. . this sting operation has given the green light making music heading to be at not

where he'll try to trap coke. i wouldn't call myself an activist i'm not even in fact i love to eat meat on a cycle of other people are just an old make a little of our 1st break or change of the world. many horns paths through her knowing before reaching consumers elsewhere in vietnam or other parts of asia. meaning is set himself up in an in conspicuous neighborhood. there are a team will be helping him under cover. but just so you've obviously been a public site with the subject of safety wise will cover you. will be unable and obviously will be following your location but technically is what goes on. but

you know just paper the thing not some friendly just a guy these trust. ming arranges to meet oke at a cafe in one of the more upscale parts of town. the undercover agent has told him he's interested in buying 5 rhino horns a deal worth half a 1000000 euros. this will be their 1st meeting in person and the agent knows he'll be subjected to a few tests are being destroyed is there clues demanding on a person to be able to manage stress under very intense situation and circumstances it's just a part of the job you have to cope with. some of these guys could be extremely dangerous we have found the other this is linking them to how products or what history is.

being use in place at the agreed location. behind him his team films the scene in secret. after a few minutes ok arrives he's in his thirty's and dressed casually in bermuda shorts and flip flops is that going to race wildlife trade or. us being in the business for about 3 years ago. we are so right to get our hearts and we need to also go together with what he claims to be telling tall us are $3.30 kilo right of all africa. it was transporter pricing. he claimed it's again the biggest cash out of ever in here on the level of the network that we have actually that is considered to be relatively high. passes the test and gains opes trust

dealing can now begin with a high ranking gangster who puts out contracts on rhinos on the other side of the planet. the kruger national park has a week like its border to mozambique. for poachers an ideal gateway and exit. some of them. into spent weeks secretly preparing for this trip together with the american n.g.o.s wild and free. a lot of the approaches inside africa come from these areas. but the guys who actually pull the trigger are pictured from the areas we got into. mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world. weapons have circulated

freely since a decades long civil war and a recent islamist insurgency. and crime syndicates have had little problem finding new recruits among those who have nothing. when you see how those people live. here learn to stand exactly why they dream they do and want wildlife in these areas doesn't stand a charge because people need food it's a simple as that. this try and i bet it will some people call it our war as being dying for 10 years and it's not getting better but nobody's. addressing the fighters nobody speaking to the purchase and saying you know what do your needs why you dream orchard. vincent stops at

a village just across the border south africa with its supply of rhino horn is only a few kilometers away this is one of the poachers strongholds i. mentioned as come on arms he's come to meet the community leaders. some of these men may have already encountered vincent at night deep in the bush. i'm certain the trappings of wealth are visibly evident. just look around us the tavern we reach in we use i'll call is the biggest and most as bold in this community and then there's absolute poverty so is the money coming to buy the alcohol and there's not this good whisky in there where does that money come from that comes from the ronald. vincent isn't here on a policing mission in any case he is no jurisdiction in mozambique he's just you to

ease certain tensions morning everyone it's no secret that the reason we're all here to die is because of the run off but we have not come here to tell you not to parts there are no parts or are nothing thread is not our business we love animals and we love people we cannot expect communities to look at wildlife as we do. if they are not benefiting from wildlife as we do our believe in this community we can fix that and china's things. the runaway dollars aren't appreciated by everyone here fast money spent badly has repeatedly caused tensions among the locals. there are no dollars a bring in prostitution. which is up in your court big drug addiction ecstasy car turns come in and it alcohol abuse. one solution would be to create real

jobs for the poachers by developing tourism for example. vincent and his friends didn't come empty handed they've brought along soccer shirts and boots. soccer is the number one sport in mozambique. it's our guest in with the community studies show that play or sport leads to innovation and creativity so everything that we're trying to do. uplift and projects bringing jobs and micro financing and all this later on is starts with soccer because then you pick up self-esteem and you have timor and something to hope for. the wild and free n.g.o.s set up a tournament the rhino. 3

months later vincent is back with the final. soccer won't solve every problem but a dialogue has now been established with the poachers village. it would be easy. for a man that are not. walked up to me should thank me and then when these are in language said to me i promise you my children want god to the kruger park so i think that's the cherry on mr. rimmer started overseas purchase should be short and killed it was our new one method to deal with the parts of those i used to sit and fart one another for the rest of our large or we can sit in whole can stop being rich warts and just and blinded for everything. get out from beyond our fences come in the city going to save a lot more on a dream as in the dead shooting people slaughters.

back in hanoi ming is having his 2nd meeting with. the trafficker had actually been planning to sell his horns to chinese buyers but evidently the goods are still in hanoi. ok eventually agrees to show me the horns it's a risky meeting make news going on his own without a hidden camera. we meet him the next day just for security reasons we decided not to carry any cameras however i was able to take pictures of the products and factor when i arrived at the place. the horns were still wrapped in white plastic sacks.

people were actually on wrapping them. and taking them out of the box at the back. this is a picture of all the horses. in the house over here you can see in total 28 horns were. shown to me and some of them are quite freshly obtained. probably the right notes but you're not too long ago because i'm looking at the base of the horn that still got their breath not stings and probably even a bit of the flesh on there and in fact when i entered the room the spot is very strong. mission ends here. because if my last one exposure was in this network. it became very difficult

for us to proceed. further we decided to pull out. before returning to the netherlands main hands all the evidence from his investigation over to the authorities. 10 days later the vietnamese police seized the horns and arrested a man but himself managed to evade capture sadly crime bosses are more often than not untouchable. in south africa colonel you'll stick has high hopes for his next operation one of his most ambitious to date. yost and his team want to catch

a very big fish a crime boss with personal control of 2 thirds of all poaching in kruger park. for this operation any lead police tactical unit has been called in. this morning 70 men will mount several raids of the suspects various known hideouts. the operation is now on and will strike at a number of addresses simultaneously since a go it's a go it's a go go it's our go for you to go to those tall get out as. the primary target is the bosses own luxury home. the punters think that nothing. but inside it. team finds only this suspect daughter. will. do some more modest building

is used for physical transactions with just a few but the premises are empty. the crime bosses accomplices are caught red handed with rhino horns. they were on their way to the airport after having run the goods in aluminum foil. as for the prime suspect he's arrested at another of his real hours by colonel used to himself. his name is petrus my brutha 54 years old also known as mr big. it's a very wealthy person he uses his money well from within the community the

community looks up team in terms of a provocative offset and support i'll believe that he is very arrogant because he feels that he's untouchable i think the benefit for this operation. we took away some of his ad against in terms of its not local police that is dealing with him it's not the local people that he can't get out. if it is contributing in the fight against we we did not won the war yet. we stabilize the situation but obviously organize draw on the city deal with issues of from that you deal with so we you are trying to stop it at one place it will lead up to the other one. in the ongoing war who will prevail the poachers or those protecting the rhinos.

with only 25000 rhinos left worldwide where the men and women fighting organized crime have time to win the war before it's too late. 2 years on from the shocking events in 12 b. the culprits have still not been identified. the tsunami has a new resident called unesco a symbolic new arrival. the crime syndicates today have the power to wipe out a species that has roamed the earth for 55000000 years. or fate threatening a range of other treasured animals to. the trafficking of wildlife and animal products is now worth $15000000000.00 euros

a year the 4th most lucrative illegal trade on the planet. entered the conflict zone. last known as venezuela's opposition to the boldest moves yet decide to get the military to come up with the best side my guest this week here in london is focus on why my representatives think that is the way of opposition leader and so stick that was what happens next conflict so few. minutes till.

their piece of video and its consequences are the logical bombshell in vienna. austria as government is in chaos. what role if any of the intelligence services played in the scandal. how close are the right wing populist to russia. 90 minutes on d w. playland puzzle yourself up by a long it's not easy to go to another country you know nothing about the wife of a on do this because we can't stay on venezuela on almost a point that you consciously global news that matters. made for

martin's. this is d w news coming to you live from berlin oh so open elections to the european parliament that includes the u.k. a country that's had planned to leave the european union by now populist look set to make big games as the situation for britain's beleaguered prime minister gets even the us also coming out into bond the samaritans are more these hindu nationalist p.g.p. declares victory in the country's election the 1st results show the party is heading for a majority in parliament want to let means.