Wong Keng Liang

Last updated

Wong Keng Liang
Born (1958-06-16) 16 June 1958 (age 65) [1]
NationalityMalaysian [2]
Other namesAnson [2]
Occupation Wildlife trader
Organization(s)Sungai Rusa Wildlife
CBS Wildlife
Known for Wildlife smuggling
Criminal statusReleased
Conviction(s) Conspiracy, smuggling, money laundering, lying to the US government, violating wildlife laws [2]
Criminal penalty71 months imprisonment and $60,000 fine
Five years imprisonment (reduced to 17-and-a-half months on appeal)
Partner(s)Cheah Bing Shee

Wong Keng Liang (born 16 June 1958) is a Malaysian animal smuggler, known as the "Lizard King" or the "Pablo Escobar of animal trafficking" from the book The Lizard King by Bryan Christy. [3] [4] [5] He was arrested after running the biggest global animal smuggling ring to be taken down. [6]

Contents

He founded a reptile export company in the early 1980s and by the end of the decade had established a large network of illegal wildlife trafficking operations from his base in Penang, where wildlife protection laws were weak and rarely enforced. He was targeted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in Operation Chameleon from 1995, which eventually saw him extradited to the United States from Mexico to be sentenced to 71 months in prison in June 2001. He resumed his smuggling operations upon his release, before being arrested by the Malaysian authorities in 2010. He was released in 2012 after securing a successful appeal against the length of his sentence. Despite having had many of his animals seized during his recent arrest, he is believed to have once again resumed illegally smuggling wildlife since his release.

Smuggling career

Wong ran Sungai Rusa Wildlife in Penang, a legal reptile export company founded in the early 1980s. [7] However, as well as legal exports he also smuggled snow leopard pelts, panda bear skins, rhino horns, rare birds, Komodo dragons, chinchillas, gorillas, tigers and elephants from Australia, China, Madagascar, New Zealand, South America, and elsewhere to markets largely in Europe, Japan, and the United States. [7] One species he exported, the Gray's monitor, had been thought to be extinct. [8] With more protected species he exploited his country's weaker wildlife protection laws and easily corruptible customs officials in order to verify the animal's documentation, thereby allowing him to sell the animals elsewhere in the world. [7] From his base in Penang, he boasted to an undercover American agent in March 1997 that "I can get anything here from anywhere, nothing can be done to me. I could sell a panda — and, nothing. As long as I’m here, I’m safe." [7]

United States sting operation

Wong became a target of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), who set up a sting operation code-named Operation Chameleon. [7] The USFWS set up animal reptile companies and first made contact with Sungai Rusa Wildlife in October 1995, establishing a business relationship. [9] Wong went on to use a corrupt employee in the FedEx facility in Phoenix, Arizona, to express mail protected species such as false gharial and radiated tortoises. [9] He also used an American mule, James Burroughs, to fly from Malaysia with Madagascan radiated tortoises who had their legs taped inside their shells and were bundled in black socks and packed at the bottom of legal reptile shipments. [9]

In order to lure Wong out of Malaysia, undercover agents agreed to meet him in Mexico with the promise of a trade in lucrative bear bile. [7] He was arrested immediately after landing in Mexico City, and was extradited to the United States after a two-year court battle. [7] In June 2001, a California court sentenced Wong to 71 months in prison (with credit for 34 months served in Mexico), a $60,000 fine, and banned him from exporting to the United States for three years after his release. [7] In fact, he continued to export wildlife to the United States during his incarceration and immediately after his release via Sungai Rusa Wildlife and a new company he founded with Cheah Bing Shee, CBS Wildlife. [9]

"They'll definitely be coming with papers. I will have a fall guy and he will get arrested. Plus the goods will be confiscated, and the goods will be sold to me by the department."

— Wong told an American undercover agent that he could smuggle Timor pythons by exploiting corruption in the Malaysian government. [9]

Release and re-arrest

Wong returned to Malaysia upon his release and subsequently received funding and land from the Penang government to construct a tiger zoo. [7] High-ranking wildlife protection official Misliah Mohamad Basir explained that the authorities there considered him a legitimate businessman who had been framed by the USFWS. [7] However, an exposé in National Geographic led to an outcry among the Malaysian public and the funding was revoked, wildlife laws were tightened and Misliah was transferred to a different position. [7] Wong switched to mainly smuggling reptiles as he felt they were not as protected as other species. [7]

One relatively minor smuggling operation was discovered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in summer 2010 when investigators examined a broken lock on a suitcase and found nearly 100 baby boa constrictors, two rhinoceros vipers, and a South American mata mata turtle, all hidden inside. [7] [10] Wong was arrested after he came to collect the suitcase. The Malaysian government then took action to restrict Wong and his activities: business licenses were revoked, his zoo was shut down, and animal collection – including his bengal tigers – seized. [7] He faced a criminal charge for smuggling the endangered boa constrictors. [11] Wong claimed that he had not applied for a permit simply because the customer was rushing him to get the snakes in time for Eid al-Fitr. [12]

In November 2010, a judge sentenced Wong to five years in prison, a strict sentence for animal smuggling by most nation's standards and completely unprecedented in Malaysian legal history. [7] Earlier in 2010 a Malaysian woman had been sentenced to eight months in prison in Madagascar for smuggling critically endangered Angonoka tortoises to Malaysia; Wong was never tried for his alleged involvement. [5]

Release on appeal

On 22 February 2012, Wong was freed after the Court of Appeal accepted his appeal to reduce the jail sentence from five years to 17+1⁄2 months. [5] Justice Datuk Wira Low Hop Bing noted that "It is trite law that Wong's plea of guilt is a mitigating factor. It is trite law that the fact Wong was the first offender is another mitigating factor". [13] Speaking in 2015, Daniel Tanuwidjaja, an Indonesian animal smuggler, admitted that he still was regularly dealing with Wong and his wife following Wong's release from prison. [5] Tanuwidjaja said that he paid off wildlife and customs officials in both Indonesia and Malaysia to avoid arrest. [5] A documentary investigatory team discovered a number of shell companies and exotic wildlife in Malaysia linked to Wong, demonstrating the country's continued struggle with corruption and enforcement of its wildlife laws. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reptile</span> Group of animals including lepidosaurs, testudines, and archosaurs

Reptiles, in common parlance, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic ('cold-blooded') metabolism and amniotic development. Living reptiles comprise four orders: Testudines (turtles), Crocodilia (crocodilians), Squamata, and Rhynchocephalia. As of May 2023, about 12,000 living species of reptiles are listed in the Reptile Database. The study of the traditional reptile orders, customarily in combination with the study of modern amphibians, is called herpetology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Jung</span> American drug trafficker and smuggler (1942–2021)

George Jacob Jung, nicknamed Boston George and El Americano, was an American drug trafficker and smuggler. He was a major figure in the United States cocaine trade during the 1970s and early 1980s. Jung and his partner Carlos Lehder smuggled cocaine into the United States for the Colombian Medellín Cartel. Jung was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 1994 on conspiracy charges, but was released in 2014. Jung was portrayed by Johnny Depp in the biopic Blow (2001).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madras Crocodile Bank Trust</span> Herpetology research station in Chennai, India

The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology (MCBT) is a reptile zoo and herpetology research station, located 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of the city of Chennai, in state of Tamil Nadu, India. The centre is both a registered trust and a recognized zoo under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and comes under the purview of the Central Zoo Authority, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. It was established with the aim of saving three Indian endangered species of crocodile—the marsh or mugger crocodile, the saltwater crocodile, and the gharial, which at the time of founding of the trust were all nearing extinction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sungai Muntoh</span> Town in Malaysia in Negeri Sembilan

Sungai Muntoh is a semi-agricultural small town in Jelebu District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia with less than 3,500 in total population. The town is located about 30 miles southeast of Kuala Lumpur and is situated near the border between Negeri Sembilan and Selangor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia Zoo</span> Zoo located in the Australian state of Queensland

Australia Zoo is a 700-acre (280 ha) zoo in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast near Beerwah/Glass House Mountains. It is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA), and is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, whose wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter and his family's new show Crikey! It's the Irwins made the zoo a popular tourist attraction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barlow and Chambers execution</span> Executed Australian drug traffickers

The Barlow and Chambers executions were the hangings on 7 July 1986 by Malaysia of two Westerners, Kevin John Barlow and Brian Geoffrey Shergold Chambers (Australian) of Perth, Western Australia, for transporting 141.9 g of heroin.

The International Primate Protection League (IPPL) is a not-for-profit animal welfare organization founded in 1973 in Thailand by Shirley McGreal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 in Malaysia</span> List of events

This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 1996, together with births and deaths of notable Malaysians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Reptile Park</span> Zoo in New South Wales, Australia

The Australian Reptile Park is located at Somersby on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is about 71 kilometres (44 mi) north of Sydney, and is just off the M1 Pacific Motorway, near Gosford. The Park has one of the largest reptile collections in Australia, with close to 50 species on display. The wide variety of reptile species at the Park includes snakes, lizards, turtles, tortoises, tuataras, American alligators and crocodiles.

<i>Banged Up Abroad</i> British television series

Banged Up Abroad is a British documentary/docudrama television series created by Bart Layton that was produced for Channel 5 and that premiered in March 2006. Most episodes feature stories of people who have been arrested while travelling abroad, usually for trying to smuggle illegal drugs, although some episodes feature people who were either kidnapped or captured while they were either travelling or living in other countries. Some episodes have featured real-life stories that first became well known when they were made the subject of a film: films that have been 're-made' in this way include Midnight Express, Goodfellas, The Devil's Double, Argo, Mr Nice and, to a lesser extent, Casino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South-West District (Penang)</span> District of Malaysia in Penang

The South-West District is a district within the Malaysian state of Penang. The district covers the southwestern half of Penang Island and borders the North-East to the north-east. It has an area of 175 km2 (68 sq mi) and a population of 197,131 as of 2010. Balik Pulau is the district's administrative centre, while Bayan Lepas is the largest town within the district.

Tony Silva, also known as Antonio H. Silva is an American aviculturist and ornithologist, and the author of books and articles about parrots. From 1989 to 1992, he was curator of birds at Loro Parque, the largest parrot park in the world. In 1996, he was convicted of conspiring to smuggle rare parrots into the United States and of tax evasion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Kennedy (rugby league)</span> Australian rugby league footballer

Martin Kennedy is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife smuggling in New Zealand</span>

New Zealand has a number of rare and endangered species and there have been cases of wildlife smuggling. New Zealand is a signatory to CITES which was set up to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES is administered by the Department of Conservation. Prosecutions from smuggling wildlife can be made under the Trade in Endangered Species Act 1989.

Operation Chameleon was a series of undercover operations performed by the Office of Law Enforcement of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) with the aim of rounding up several reptile smuggling rings. The operation lasted five years, starting during the second half of the 1990s and was mainly concerned with violations of laws as the Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act. The FWS cooperated with law enforcement agencies around the world.

Tom Crutchfield, also known as Tommy, is an American reptile breeder known for his extensive Homestead, Florida, facility and his 1999 arrest and conviction under Operation Chameleon for trafficking in exotic animals and violating the Lacey Act, which temporarily suspended his business. He has called himself "the Mick Jagger of the reptile business". The case was later featured on National Geographic's Locked Up Abroad. He is also the focus of the 2008 book by Bryan Christy, The Lizard King, along with Michael Van Nostrand of Strictly Reptiles, and the 2011 book Stolen World by Jennie Smith.

Derrick Gregory was an English drug smuggler who was hanged in Malaysia in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Béatrice Saubin</span>

Béatrice Saubin was a French woman convicted of drug smuggling in Malaysia who later wrote a best-selling book about her prison experiences. Raised by her grandmother in Romilly-sur-Seine, she dropped out of high school and travelled to Thailand, then Malaysia, having affairs with men in each country. Her Malaysian lover in Penang offered to marry her if she met him in Zurich. At age 20, in January 1980, she was detained at Penang International Airport when an airport x-ray scanner detected 534 grams (1.177 lb) of pure grade heroin hidden in her suitcase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Christy</span> American novelist

Bryan Christy is an American author and investigative journalist. He is the founder and former director of National Geographic Special Investigations and a National Geographic Society Rolex Explorer of the Year. Christy worked as a writer and chief correspondent for National Geographic Magazine, an Explorer Series television host, a documentary filmmaker, speaker, and educator. In 2008, Christy published his non-fiction book "The Lizard King". In 2017, Christy left National Geographic to focus on his first novel, "In the Company of Killers" which was published on April 13, 2021.

References

  1. ↑ Neumann, Jeff (9 March 2010). "Legendary Animal Smuggler Caught with 95 Snakes In Luggage". Gawker . Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Alonso-Zaldivar, R (16 September 1998). "Agents Arrest Reptile Dealer in Trade Sting". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Christy, Bryan (1 August 2008). The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World's Greatest Reptile Smugglers. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN   978-0-446-53790-2.
  4. ↑ "Malaysia jails man who smuggled 95 snakes on a plane". BBC News. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Return of the Lizard King". Al Jazeera . 21 April 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  6. ↑ "Panorama – Threat to rare species". BBC News. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Christy, Bryan (28 December 2010). "The Serpent King". Foreign Policy . Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  8. ↑ "5 legendary kingpins from Asia". sg.style.yahoo.com. Yahoo!. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Kingpin" . National Geographic Magazine . 1 January 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  10. ↑ Laufer, Peter (2018). Dreaming in Turtle: A Journey Through the Passion, Profit, and Peril of Our Most Coveted Prehistoric Creatures. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 66. ISBN   978-1-250-12810-2 . Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  11. ↑ "Smuggler busted with 95 snakes in his suitcase". Traveller. 3 September 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "International wildlife trafficker sentenced to 6 months in Malaysia – Wildlife Trade News from TRAFFIC". www.traffic.org. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  13. ↑ "Wildlife trader wins appeal to walk free". The Star . 23 February 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.