‘Follow the money’: to combat wildlife trafficking and catch the kingpins, authorities take new approach

In most cases, the conviction of a Thai man trafficking rhino horns through a bizarre scheme that involved hiring prostitutes to pose as trophy hunters would have marked the end of the story.
But investigators took an unusual, next step – deciding to “follow the money” that helped bankroll the South African operation, and ultimately winning a court order last year to seize Chumlong Lemtongthai’s Thai bank accounts and other assets, including a house worth US$142,000, to…