On Trail of Largest African Ivory Seizure in 25 Years, Locating Suspected Kingpin in Vietnam
A fugitive in Ho Chi Minh City is believed to head a network that illegally ships ivory from Togo.
A Vietnamese timber trader wanted by authorities in Togo and by INTERPOL in connection with a historic African ivory trafficking case is living in Ho Chi Minh City, National Geographic has uncovered.
The January 2014 ivory trafficking case involves the largest ivory seizure on the African continent since a global ivory ban took effect in 1990. The suspect, Dao Van Bien, and his wife run a major timber import operation in Vietnam, and Dao continues to travel to West Africa despite an Interpol red notice seeking his apprehension for suspected involvement in an attempt to smuggle a record-setting quantity of ivory out of Togo last January.
On January 23 and 29, 2014, Togolese authorities at the Port of Lome intercepted containers that
