LONDON – Minister of defence and President Robert Mugabe’s heir apparent, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has been named by a British newspaper as the mastermind behind a multi-million dollar ivory and rhino horn smuggling cartel. (Pictured: earlier this year, the crocodile gang struck at a rhino sanctuary and opened fire with automatic weapons, pouring bullets into the enclosure, killing the mature female sprinter (pictured above the next day) and a pregnant female. sprinter’s baby, tatenda, escaped)

The report carried in the Daily Mail at the weekend reads as follows:
“The locals’ whispered name for Emmerson Mnangagwa, architect of Zimbabwe’s terrifying state security apparatus and a man reputed to ‘devour’ his enemies, is ‘Ngwena’, the Crocodile. “and now the self-styled ‘Son of God’, who claims he is accountable to no one, has a new sideline – as godfather of the most powerful ivory cartel in world. and his gang of thugs are making millions from the secret trade.

“dubbed the Crocodile Gang, this cartel is behind the ‘industrial- scale slaughter’ of black rhinos, prompting warnings that the species will be hunted to extinction in the region within two years.

“Money is behind the carnage. and lots of it. as the worldwide ivory ban restricts supply,
wealthy Chinese are willing to pay up to £250,000 for a single rhino horn. With a kilo of rhino ivory costing £30,000 on the black market, at least 12 of these magnificent creatures are being slaughtered in southern africa every month.”

Twenty years ago, there were thousands of black rhinos. Now there are just 460. and the slaughter is intensifying, fuelled by China’s booming prosperity. Daily Mail reporter, andrew Malone, was given an unprecedented insight into the sheer scale of the Crocodile Gang’s operation – and the vast sums involved. His adventure is detailed in the newspaper article and he describes a secret face-to-face meeting with one of Mnangagwa’s henchmen – “a pudgy, dissolute looking character of about 50. He
climbed into the back of our car and introduced himself simply as Gerald.”

Gerald told Malone the whole story – how the hunts were conducted, how the horn was sold, what was paid – as well as how another poacher accused by Mnangagawa of not handing over his cut was found dead recently, shot seven times in the face.

Malone’s report continues: “The involvement of Mnangagwa – as well as tantalising links to a thriving safari operation set up by Charles davy, the wealthy father of Prince Harry’s former girlfriend, Chelsy davy – emerged this month when an over-zealous police officer stopped a Chinese man at a roadblock.

Mnangagwa behind ivory, rhino smuggling .. says British newspaper “The man was carrying six rhino horns, worth a fortune in China. They were dripping with fresh blood. under questioning by the policeman, the man implicated The Crocodile and Webster
Shamu, a close business associate of davy. “davy and Shamu set up HKK safaris, which offers trophy hunting of animals including elephant and lion, to wealthy foreigners.
While almost every other white landowner has been driven from his property by Mugabe’s thugs, davy has prospered. “unfortunately, the policeman who uncovered the ivory haul has vanished – along with his report. Meanwhile, the Chinese national
was released – with his ivory – and escorted through Harare International airport to his plane.

“It is a common story. Earlier this year, Wu Ming Quan, another Chinese ‘ businessman’, was caught with 500kg of ivory at Harare airport. The tusks were spotted on an X-ray machine at the airport. But the X-ray operator was prevented from confronting Quan by three members of Zimbabwe’s secret police. “according to undercover wildlife
investigators, the Chinese businessman had paid an additional £2,000 for safe passage through the airport. The X-ray operator was arrested and thrown in jail for threatening to bring the crime to light.

“But Zimbabwe is getting ever closer to China and its hunger for rhino horn. Last week, half a ton of rhino and elephant ivory was found hidden in coffins aboard a plane in Nairobi. The plane had come from Zimbabwe and had stopped in Kenya en route to
China. and another ton of ivory was seized in Nairobi two months ago. again, it was being shipped from Zimbabwe to China.”