Wildlife smuggling

Watchdog says Chinese town is major ivory smuggling hub

An environmental watchdog group says its investigation has found that a little-known town in southern China is a major hub for ivory smuggling by organized criminal gangs.

The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Investigation Agency said in a report Tuesday that it uncovered a network of ivory trafficking syndicates operating out of Shuidong in Guangdong province, near Hong Kong.

The group says its investigators worked undercover posing as buyers to win the trust of a smuggling group and tracked one of its shipments from Mozambique.

Syndicate members told the EIA theirs was just one of 10-20 ivory trafficking groups operating out of Shuidong, the group said.

They claimed that 80 percent of all poached ivory smuggled from Africa to China passes through the town — a startling figure that's impossible to corroborate.