Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.A Grisly And Illicit Trade
The Chinese man with the cruel face was adamant. He would not show the visitor the panda pelt being offered for sale without a $10,000 deposit. But perhaps she would be interested in a better deal: two live young pandas, chained and ready to go, for just $112,000. Of course, he had leopard and tiger pelts as well, if she were interested. Eight smugglers gathered around them in the dimly lighted, smoke-filled room in Quanzhou, an ancient seaport on the narrow waterway between mainland China and Taiwan; each one was seeking a $19,000 cut just for witnessing a deal.
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