The Wild Crime Report for Monday 7 July 2025
Wildlife traffickers pardoned, rhino horn seizures, lions in Lahore and more busts on the Thai-Indian wildlife freeway.
Welcome to the Wild Crime report for another week.
Always good to see some new followers trickling in every week. Please throw any questions or comments you have about any of the news detailed here down the bottom. I like a good chat about the crazy things going on in the wild world. And the more discussion around the prevalence of environmental crime the better chance we have of keeping it in the news cycle and taking steps to buy time for all creatures great and small.
Now let’s get into some information.
Wildlife trafficker pardoned but still behind bars
We’ve flagged this before in previous reports but seems the rumours that convicted wildlife trafficker Lin Yun Hua (see below) has received a pardon from the Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera are true. As reported in the news last week, Hua is reportedly on a list of 21 individuals to receive the pardon for various wildlife offences that resulted in him receiving a 14 year prison sentence back in 2020. His wife Qin Hua Zhang was also convicted and sentenced to 11 years imprisonment however she too is believed to have received the pardon.
The result quite frankly undermines the excellent enforcement efforts and prosecution that was led by authorities in Malawi to bring down Hua, who was operating a poaching and trafficking racket for some time. The only solace is that Hua remains behind bars due to an ongoing court process for corruption charges for attempting to bribe a prison official whilst in custody. He wife meanwhile, is believed to have returned back to China.
No doubt all eyes will be on his pending trial and all ears will be waiting for an explanation from the President’s office for the rationale of the pardon. Could be waiting a while though.
Sting operation in South Africa for rhino horn
The South African Police Service (SAPS) conducted an operation last Wednesday that resulted in the seizure of three rhino horns and the arrest of three suspects. Via their press release, the SAPS stated that the operation involved the rhino horns being “purchased”, yet the accused did not have permits to possess or sell.
While the illegal international rhino horn trade is driving the rhino horn crisis, South Africa still permits local trade in rhino horn following a 2017 decision of the Constitutional Court. However it’s a process that is incredibly onerous, costly and receives considerable scrutiny from the authorities.
Given the main demand for horn comes from it’s value as a luxury item in Asia, you have to really question who the market within South Africa is for a commodity that is a lot of trouble to get your hands on legally and for which the local price is dwarfed by the value for the same product in Asia.
Lion attack sparks raids in Pakistan
A woman and two children were attacked by a lion in Lahore last week after it escaped a private residence where it was being kept in captivity. The owner has since being arrested with the lion now transferred to a wildlife reserve. The dramatic footage of the lion fleeing the premises and ravaging street goers went viral across all media.
In response, officials from the Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department commenced a crackdown on big cat owners keeping animals without a licence. The Department announced that it had seized 18 lions as well as raided 38 lion and tiger breeding farms where individuals were arrested for violations.
Exotic pet ownership continues to be a lucrative trade in Pakistan where exotic pet ownership is legal yet regulated and customers seek to keep animals as trophies and to show off their wealth. Or just to prove that they’re a bit of a wanker, you be the judge.
Mr Trouser Snake rides again
It’s a headline that editors just can’t help but excite about. A Sri Lankan man was arrested last week at Bangkok Airport with, yep, three ball pythons stuffed down his underwear. That’s a hell of a trust in fabric for a long haul flight.
The suspect was reported as having a “history of animal trafficking” and was stopped just before he could board a flight departing Thailand. A subsequent body search turned up the pythons which are a protected species listed on CITES Appendix II. If found guilty of offences under Thailand’s Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act B.E. 2562, he could be facing up to 10 years imprisonment.
Gibbons seized in India coming from Thailand
And just because it’s literally a weekly occurrence, we continue to report of more wildlife seized along the Thailand-India wildlife express freeway. This time at Chennai International Airport, where Customs officials last Tuesday discovered two gibbons concealed in check in luggage between food items. An Indian national was arrested and as is customary, the animals were sent back to Thailand.
This was disclosed to be the second such interception of the same kind of apes after 2 more gibbons and a courier were caught last month. Certainly a trend worth following.
Who is checking in a bag packed with a live ape, but more importantly, who is not checking that bag when it gets put on the scales at the point of origin?
Stay wild.