It turned out to be run by the yakuza, Japan's organized-crime syndicate. Last week one of the gangsters involved was sentenced to 18 months in prison. In South America drug cartels have long been involved in the animal trade, but until lately it was mostly a way to move their primary product. Agents have found cocaine in polar-bear skins and live boa constrictors, and heroin packed into a tiger rug's skull. Now it's wildlife.
Animals are useful for money laundering as well.
According to Picon's agency, smugglers frequently trade illegal drugs for endangered species, resulting in cashless transfers. And an official from Interpol has told Time that the agency is tracking airplanes that fly into Leticia, a port in the Colombian Amazon, with cargoes of motorcycles and appliances, then fly out with animals obtained in the area. It is in Russia, where Galster had his close call, that professional criminals have penetrated most deeply into the endangered-species business. Customers can also place orders for wild ginseng, walrus ivory, tiger furs, sea otters and beluga whales. Some dealers even have price lists printed in English.