Kriti Mehrotra
HBO’s ‘Monsters of God’ is a documentary series that traces the evolution of the reptile trade from its beginnings in the 1960s to a world of chaos. Directed by Eric Goode, it showcases how dealers thrived by working together to skirt the law and how the industry eventually unfolded into an international crime ring. Alongside other individuals, it also features the highly infamous “Pablo Escobar of animal trafficking” — Wong Keng Liang AKA Anson Wong.
Anson Wong Has Been Involved With Reptiles For As Long As He Can Remember
Born in Malaysia on June 16, 1958, Wong Keng Liang (also known as Anson Wong) never limited himself to the background, culture, language, or people of his loving homeland. It has been reported that since he had the resources, he dedicated himself to becoming well-versed about different societies, learning multiple tongues, and exploring the natural world. All this was aside from his knowledge of and passion for reptiles, which stemmed from his growing up surrounded by them thanks to his father’s successful crocodile-farming business.
“My father, he had a crocodile farm,” Anson revealed in the show. “I grew up in that farm. But Malaysia placed the saltwater crocodile under the protected list, so he sold them and set up a company dealing in skins.” The skins he referred to are reptilian, and he ultimately joined the trade and began dealing in the outer layers of komodo dragons, monitor lizards, pythons, etc. However, as time passed, he claims everyone began offering him live reptiles instead of just the skins, and he couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to explore the market demand.
Anson knew that trading in the rare animals he wanted to or was receiving was illegal since many had warned him, but he believed, “When there is a demand for it, there is nothing you can’t get for the right price.” Therefore, in the 1980s, he established an exotic pet export business called Sungai Rusa Wildlife, through which he engaged in the international trade of both legal and illegal reptiles. He not only sold bearded dragons, leopard geckos, and snakes, but also smuggled rare birds, rhino horns, panda fur, snow leopard pelts, and reportedly boasted to undercover buyers that he could procure elephants, gorillas, and tigers.
Anson Wong Admittedly Has Connections All Across the Globe
Anson made use of the international directory of reptile dealers available at the time to build a clientele and form connections in the industry, enabling him to gain early affluence. According to records, his ability to be charming, informative, personable, and self-assured also helped him a lot along the way as he became the go-to for some of the biggest collectors/traders in the US. Whether it be Thomas “Tommy” Crutchfield, Mike Van Nostrand, or other big-name dealers, they all worked with him at one point or another before claiming he was a dangerous man.
According to investigators and industry insiders, it has long been alleged that Anson ran his operation as a sophisticated, multimillion-dollar syndicate, aggressively freezing out anyone who crossed him in business. That’s how the notorious Malaysian earned the moniker of “Pablo Escobar of animal trafficking,” but he vehemently denies the first half of this title because he claims he has only ever run an animal export/smuggling business. In fact, he said in the docu-series, “When they labeled me ‘Pablo Escobar,’ I had a good laugh. Do I seem like a violent person to you? With the reptile trade, we are a bunch of people who just love animals, and we tried to make a few dollars out of it.” For him, though, the “few dollars” amounted to millions since he specialized in highly protected and endangered reptiles.
However, it’s imperative to note that Anson admittedly had many significant connections across the globe, and he was just beginning to expand his operations. “The big thing I realized was, to be successful, you have to know a lot of people in different countries,” he said on the show. “Operating out of Malaysia alone doesn’t allow the inventory to grow.” He thus found contacts in Argentina, Australia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, England, India, Japan, Madagascar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tibet, and many other places. As if that’s not enough, over the years, he reportedly even boasted that he could exploit corrupt governments or specific individuals to obtain any animal or animal product from anywhere.
Despite His Past Arrests, Anson Wong Continues to Work in the Animal/Reptile Industry
Since Anson established his lucrative business in Penang, Malaysia, where wildlife protection laws have historically been rarely enforced, it was the US Fish & Wildlife Service that targeted him in the 1990s. He was among the primary individuals they were looking into as part of Operation Chameleon, yet it reportedly wasn’t until Mike Van Nostrand’s arrest that they learned the extent of his criminal operations. That’s because the owner of Strictly Reptiles cooperated with federal officials every step of the way, revealing that the Malaysian native was arguably running the largest global animal-smuggling ring. So, to apprehend him, undercover agents ultimately lured him to Mexico under the pretense of being interested in making a rare, remunerative trade for bear bile.
Anson was arrested not long after he landed at the Mexico City International Airport (MEX) in September 1998, only for him to fight his extradition to the US for nearly 2 years. He did so from a local Mexican prison before giving up so as to face the consequences of his actions – he was extradited in 2000, and he agreed to a plea deal less than a year later. In December 2000, he entered his guilty plea to 40 felony charges related to his trafficking endangered reptiles, rare animals, or their products all across the globe from 1992 to 1998. On June 7, 2001, he was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison with credit for time served, ordered to pay a $60,000 fine, and told he was banned from exporting to the US for 3 years after his release.
As per the National Geographic Magazine, Anson didn’t stop running either his legal or illegal operations even while he was incarcerated, so he returned to his normal routine following his release. In fact, he not only continued to helm Sungai Rusa Wildlife and his illegal trade in Penang, Malaysia, but he soon also spread his wings by launching a reptile breeding facility named CBS Wildlife. He was arrested again by the local authorities in the summer of 2010 after officials at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport found nearly 100 baby boa snakes, 2 rhinoceros vipers, and a South American mata mata turtle inside his suitcase. He was later sentenced to 5 years in prison, but was released in 2012 when an appeal led to his jail time being reduced to a total of 17½ months.
Since then, alongside his wife, Cheah Bing Shee, Anson has continued to be involved in the animal/reptile trade. While they maintain the business operations, wildlife watchdogs have long suspected that illicit networks often merely go further underground. “You put me in jail, but nothing has changed,” Anson stated in the series. “I came up prospering. I came up with everything intact. I just got back to where I was. You know what? Operation Chameleon made no difference because it’s like chopping off the head of a Hydra. You chop off one, six sprout.”
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