Convicted Malaysian wildlife smuggler Anson Wong a.k.a. 'The Lizard King' may still be moving endangered species around the world in what has become the third most lucrative black market after drugs and arms, Al Jazeera TV said in a press statement today.

The Doha-headquartered news channel will broadcast a documentary on Thursday showing reporter Steve Chao allegedly tracking down the illicit wildlife trade network from Madagascar to Indonesia and Penang.

anson wong aljazeera 101 lizard king wildlife trafficking After a year-long investigation, Chao finally tracks down and confronts the Lizard King himself.

Wong has been notoriously-linked to illegal global wildlife trade for over two decades. In 2010, Wong was caught trying to transit to Jakarta with 95 boa constrictors.

Initially sentenced to five years in jail, his term was cut to 17 months on appeal and he was freed in February last year.

Animals seized

After his arrest in 2010, Malaysia revoked all his wildlife trading permits and ordered the seizure of all his animals, including two tigers and a crocodile.

Before that, Wong was indicted in 2001 based on evidence from a three-year joint ‘sting' operation conducted by the governments of Mexico and United States in conjunction with Interpol, for the illegal transport of endangered animal species to Mexico and the United States.

NONE Al Jazeera TV claims that Wong is "still operating his multi-million dollar illegal business, with the help of government officials." The illegal trade in wildlife is thought to be worth at least $19 billion a year now.

Al Jazeera's Chao starts his journey in Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar where the son of a presidential candidate introduces him to one of his contacts.

He is shown samples of endangered tortoises and traders promise to help him ship hundreds of tortoises to a destination of his choice, by bribing customs officials.

Chao then traces the trade to Indonesia where an associate of Wong claims that the Lizard King continues to deal in wildlife, helped by his wife. The associate also claims that Wong can pay off officials in Indonesia and Malaysia to bring the animals in.

Steve Chao aljazeera 101 presenter lizard king wildlife trafficking Chao then travels to Penang to uncover shell companies used to hide the illicit trade in reptiles, and also stumbles on a number of exotic wildlife buyers.

Despite efforts by many governments to crack down on animal smuggling, the practice still persists in the Asia and is a major threat to endangered species.

The US State Department has said that trafficking not only undermines conservation, it also threatens the rule of law and is a risk to global health.

Al Jazeera's 101 East 'Return of The Lizard King' will be shown on Friday, Nov 22 at 6.30am (Malaysian time).