When a blonde who had walked out on her Botswana-based wildlife smuggling kingpin partner arrived at the offices of the Sunday Times in the last 1980’s, the lid would be blown off a criminal network bent on killing off two of the world’s most iconic species – the elephant and the rhino.

Using trucks to transport contraband across borders to curio shops fronting as legitimate operate operations, the syndicate operated with free abandon, until their nefarious activities were revealed through investigations by journalist De Wet Potgieter. It was because of the information supplied by Brenda Voue that De Wet was inundated with so much information about the involvement of local and foreign criminal networks, senior military officials propping up the Jonas Savimbi’s war in Angola, and senior National Party officials that he authored not only several more newspaper articles on the plight of rhino and elephant, but also produced the first edition of Contraband in 1995. Since then, a plethora of information continues to come to light about the involvement of government officials, international spies, British undercover operatives, businesspeople, and criminal elements.

This is an exposure of the depths to which certain people would go to literally enjoy a piece of the pie. The commercial international rhino horn trade has been banned by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for more than 45 years. In South Africa, the domestic trade in rhino horn has been legal since 2017 opening loopholes from criminal syndicates to “legally” purchase rhino horn, but then still smuggle it out of the country for traditional uses in the Far East. The involvement of criminal operations such as the Triads cannot be ignored, nor can the pressure pre- and post-apartheid on the South African police’s highly successful Endangered Species Protection Unit under Colonel Piet Lategan, which resulted it its eventual demise. It’s an inescapable fact that the onslaught on South Africa’s rhino, and on other wildlife within the Southern African region, will continue despite the commitment and tenacity of several individuals and nongovernment organisations.

The onus has now shifted to the custodians of rhino – national parks, game reserves, private game ranchers and private rhino owners – to protect these prehistoric beasts from extinction.

When De Wet Potgieter wrote in the Daily Maverick that Al Qaeda was operating within borders of South Africa, there were howls of protest, he was forced to write a retraction and was fired. After the Westgate terror attack in Nairobi, in the aftermath of which South Africa was named as a conduit country for Al Shabaab, who claimed responsibility, media from all around world suddenly wanted interviews with De Wet. The fact is that compelling evidence points to Al Qaeda being here, and his book will show where they might be operating (on a farm, known to the local people, and photographed) and most importantly how and why.

It will show the unwillingness of Government to act on their own intelligence, and how our porous borders and corruption ridden state machinery make this country the ideal entry point for terrorism. Based on two years' investigations and numerous interviews, this book will give details of the secluded farm and surveillance of it, showing the involvement of the secret Muslim paramilitary organisation called the Fordsburg Group; expose the workings of the Pakistani Mafia in South Africa and how their members were never prosecuted after being arrested here; the payment of millions in state funds to a terrorist organisation for security during the 2010 World Cup; more money changing hands; and the rendition of Pakistani national from South Africa.

The South African passport of the so called "White Widow" implicated in the terrorist attack has been documented. This book also tells of a South African woman called the "Black Widow" with ties to both the right wing and Muslim extremists.

Tydens die Nasionale Party se bewind het die sekuriteits magte die regering deur direkte betrokkenheid ondersteun. Die gewone man op die straat was onbewus daarvan dat sy belasting geld gebruik is om te betaal vir onortodokse en selfs onwettige operasies, van internasionale propaganda veldtogte tot plaaslike sluipmoord magte. Dit was die regering se Totale Strategie teen die vyand se Totale Aanslag. Ten spyte van 'n paar joernaliste se pogings om die waarheid van apartheid te ontbloot, bly Suid-Afrika se onlangse geskiedenis belaai met geheime. Nou, vir die eerste keer, stel ondersoekende joernalis De Wet Potgieter die waarheid agter sommige van die raaiselagtigste gebeure bloot. Van wat gebeur het tydens PW Botha se finale kabinet vergadering tot die sluipmoord van Olaf Palme.