Justice for wildlife: Notorious Vietnamese wildlife trafficker Phan Huynh Anh Khoa, a.k.a. the “Bastard of the Internet”, was sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Tan Binh People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City.
Khoa’s sentence is the result of a two-year investigation by Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV). He was finally caught red-handed with a dead red-shanked douc (Pygathrix nemaeus) and nine Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus) during a sting operation organized by ENV and the Environment Police of Ho Chi Minh City in December 2015. In addition to jail time, Khoa was fined $2,230.
Khoa was dubbed the “Bastard of the Internet” by ENV due to his flagrant advertising of a wide assortment of endangered and protected species. He trafficked wildlife on his Facebook page, websites, and trading forums. Khoa sold douc langurs, leopard cats, pangolins, marine turtles, otters, and lorises. His list of live animals for sale read like the inventory of a small zoo, and included both native and exotic wildlife. Khoa mocked Vietnamese authorities and ENV on his Facebook page, promising that he would never be caught.
Many thanks to the Tan Binh People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City and our partners Education for Nature-Vietnam for bringing this disgraceful criminal to justice.
Help fight against wildlife trafficking: Support our work to advocate for the protection of endangered species at the upcoming CITES CoP17 in South Africa.
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Rhishja Cota
I am the founder of Annamiticus and I have been researching and writing about wildlife trafficking issues since 2009. I also founded World Pangolin Day in 2012. I am the author of USAID Wildlife Asia's Pangolin Species Identification Guide: A Rapid Assessment Tool for Field and Desk. I co-facilitated and was a presenter at the USAID Wildlife Asia Pangolin Care Workshop. At the 4th Regional Dialogue on Combating Trafficking of Wild Fauna and Flora, I facilitated the species roundtables on pangolins. I have trekked with forest rangers in Cambodia, journeyed to the streets of Hanoi to research the illegal wildlife trade, and to the rainforests of Sumatra and Java to document the world’s rarest rhinos. At CITES meetings, I collaborate with colleagues from around the world to lobby in favor of protecting endangered species. I hosted the Behind the Schemes podcast and am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine. I enjoy music, desert gardening, herping, reading, creating, and walking with my dogs. Check out my t-shirts and stickers at snoots + teefers.