Sample Debrief
(extracted from the VAST 2007 contest entry submitted
by the University of British Columbia & Simon Fraser
University)
In the spring
of 2003, chinchillas gain popularity as the new “fad pets” in the US:
animals, previously uncommon in household setting, which suddenly become
fashionable as pets. Consequently, many animal rights activists become
concerned that the increase in the popularity of these pets might also mean a
rise in incidences of animal neglect and other forms of abuse.
In particular,
the fad offended Cesar Gil, a biologist in the Los Angeles
region, who worried that the increased demand for chinchillas would result in
increased rates of chinchilla poaching in South America.
Gil thus devised a scheme—the “Chinsurrection”—that was designed to cause a
decline in their popularity by infecting them with monkeypox, and therefore
making them a carrier of a disease that is potentially fatal to humans. In the
summer of 2003, Gil opened a chinchilla farm, called Gil Breeders, where he
began raising chinchillas to be used in his plot, while establishing himself as
a trustworthy vendor of chinchillas in LA. The progress of his scheme is
chronicled on his blog, Chinchilla Dreamin’, within the musings of a comic
strip.
The monkeypox
plot culminated in July of 2004, when seven people were reported to be ill with
monkeypox, including the megastar rapper, r’Bear. By July 24, two people had
died from monkeypox. Meanwhile, Cesar Gil was nowhere to be found, presumably
having fled the country.
The
distribution of monkeypox-infected chinchillas can be tied to a
privately-traded company called Global Ways. On the surface, Global Ways
appears to be an import-export company that specializes in the import of rare
and exotic tropical fish. However, Global Ways is also involved in animal and
cocaine smuggling operations, especially from South America and Africa. In particular, we recognize Madhi Kim, the CEO of
Global Ways, and Navarro Mercurio, the office manager of Global Ways Miami branch, to be intricately involved with these
illegal dealings.
Global Ways’
involvement with animal smuggling is closely linked with Abu Hassan, the owner
of the circus, “Professor Assan and His Amazing Animals.” Through this African
circus, Hassan obtained exotic species of parrots and chimpanzees to be
imported to the US.
His notoriety, both in animal abuse and in smuggling, eventually leads to a
raid on his circus by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES) on March 2, 2004, in Zimbabwe. Many of his animals are
confiscated at this time, although Hassan himself is missing, presumably having
gone into hiding.
A series of
tropical fish shipments through Miami revealed
that Global Ways smuggles cocaine from South America.
In fall of 2003, reports of poor quality fish transports—with fatality rates as
high as 80%—by Global Ways are publicized.
Furthermore, the packages were covered in an unidentified toxin, which caused
some workers to require emergency medical attention. According to the support
material provided, live fish are transported in plastic bags, packaged in a
Styrofoam case lined with insulation material. We suspect that the insulation
material in some of the fish shipments may have been cocaine. This hypothesis
is supported by the symptoms exhibited by fish handlers, which are suspiciously
similar to those of acute cocaine poisoning through skin contact and
inhalation: numbness and tingling of hands, dilated eyes, difficulty breathing,
and euphoria. Global Ways blamed an inexperienced fish handler in South America for this incident. Later, suspicion of
Global Ways became somewhat diffused when nine additional fish importers are
named as potential sources of the contaminated fish.
Since the
suspected cocaine was trafficked through Miami,
it is very likely that Navarro Mercurio is aware of, and is directing, these
illegal activities. We suspect that Mercurio is also involved with Global Ways’
animal smuggling ring, and propose that Mercurio may be “M.N.,” who was
photographed meeting with “R.B.” in New
Orleans during April of 2004. “R.B.” in the photo is likely
Rosalind Baptista, a known chinchilla poacher, who was photographed illegally
hunting chinchillas in Choapa Valley,
Chile. Cesar
Gil appears to be aware of Baptista’s role as an illegal distributor of
chinchillas to retailers, as demonstrated by his cryptic remarks on the
Chinsurrection strip posted on June 30, 2004: “Senorita Baptista delivers [the
chinchillas] t’morra!” It should be noted that the chinchilla depicted in this
strip appears to be a carrier of disease—likely monkeypox—which causes the pet
owner in the comic to fall ill.
The hypothesis
that Navarro Mercurio and Rosalind Baptista are the identities of M.N. and R.B.
is supported by r’Bear’s strange illness in July of 2004, likely a monkeypox
infection from sick chinchillas. We know that Madhi Kim and r’Bear are on
cordial terms. For instance, on March 13, 2004, Kim was invited to r’Bear’s
wildlife preservation ranch, Shravaana. In mid-April, 2004, r’Bear was invited
to the Global Ways Nights of Champagne and Tropical Fish as a “special guest”
of Kim. Furthermore, they have a mutual friend, Luella Vedric, who shares their
interests in uncommon animals. Therefore, we can postulate that some of the 500
animals r’Bear acquires in June of 2004, including the short-tailed
chinchillas, are supplied by Madhi Kim representing Global Ways. This, combined
with Rosalind Baptista’s infected chinchillas, points to Navarro Mercurio as a
likely candidate that mediates the chinchilla connection from Cesar Gil to
Global Ways, and subsequently to r’Bear. Unfortunately, how Gil knows of
Baptista is unclear, and raises several questions regarding the nature of their
connection: Does she supply him with chinchillas for his farm? Does he supply
her with monkeypox-infected chinchillas? If so, is she aware of the infection?
Who is his informant? This trail of infected chinchillas is studded with highly
suspicious characters, and warrants further investigation.
We also
recommend an investigation of Luella Vedric, a socialite and an outspoken
member of the Society for the Prevention of Mistreatment of Animals (SPOMA). On
the surface, Vedric appears to be, in every way, an animal rights activist,
even hosting the eighth annual SPOMA dinner in January of 2004. She is also a
long-time friend of Catherine “Collie” Carnes, the spokesperson of SPOMA, and
was reported to be helping track Abu Hassan’s circus to stop animal cruelty.
Yet, simultaneously, she openly associates with Madhi Kim, who owns a canned
hunting ranch and trades with Abu Hassan—the very man she provided information
to stop. These facts place Vedric in an awkward position between innocence and
guilt: Is Vedric genuinely attempting to stop animal abuse by getting
information about Abu Hassan through Kim? Or is she motivated by something
else?