EXCLUSIVE: Confronting an Accused Ivory Smuggler | National Geographic

As part of his ivory trafficking investigation, Brian Christie has led to a small West African port in L Togo where the largest African ivory seizure in over a quarter century was recently discovered by Lieutenant Kier A. One of the men arrested at the scene is Den Huka, a Vietnamese national who owns an import-export business in L. Den is suspected of being a major kingpin in the illicit ivory trade.

It was Lieutenant A's revolutionary idea that led to the arrest. Using a massive X-ray scanner, AWI began inspecting containers, not just going into but out of the port. They identified four tons of ivory hidden inside these containers. It's the biggest seizure of ivory in African history.

Uh, let's compare this, yes, with the seizure. One excellent, so okay, it should not be packed like that. It looks like snakes. You see the difference? Yeah, you will see that there is ivory, yes, at L prison.

Brian is able to secure an interview with Din Huka, the man being charged in Lieutenant A's case.

"I don't know, don't know how about for... yeah, so you have no knowledge of how the ivory got into your container?"

"For we've never seen ivory before. So, in your home, they found $165,000 in cash, tat, Euros, US Dollars, CA Vietnamese Dong. All in cash in your house. So, you don't make much money in the timber business, but you have $165,000 in cash and you have a brand new Land Rover?"

"Fix it all the time, it's not a good car."

"I have seen the car; I wish I had that car."