The broad strokes of the ivory poaching tragedy are well documented: some 30 000 African elephants are slaughtered every year for their tusks; thousands more people are attacked, raped and murdered in the path of destruction paid for in part by the trade.

Until now, no one has been able to show how the pieces of this deadly puzzle connect – how the ivory is stripped from the corpses of elephants systematically killed by increasingly militarised poachers; how the ivory crosses the African continent to be traded for money to purchase weapons and ammunition; and how the ivory and weapons are stockpiled to sustain a campaign of crime and terrorism.

A veteran reporter of wildlife trafficking wars and chief correspondent for National Geographic magazine’s new Special Investigations Unit, Christy devises a new tool to investigate how illegal ivory is moved both within Africa and outside of its borders. He commissions an artificial elephant tusk designed to look and feel like the real thing. The artificial tusk is embedded with a custom-made GPS and satellite-based tracking system, and is used to track the people who kill elephants, learning what roads, ports, cities and countries their ivory plunder follows.

Christy’s artificial tusk leads him to the doorsteps of Africa’s most notorious militias and terrorist groups, all of them known for looting communities, raping and enslaving villagers and killing park rangers who stand in their way. His reporting, though dangerous, is vitally important to help world authorities identify and follow the sources of illegal ivory and to stop the trade in its tracks.

National Geographic magazine has been the official journal of the National Geographic Society for nearly 127 years. In addition to its ground-breaking photographic legacy, over the course of its history the magazine’s images have documented numerous discoveries and expeditions (many funded by the National Geographic Society), from the first American ascent of Everest to Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey’s pioneering work with primates in Africa to Jacques Cousteau’s dives and James Cameron’s historic solo descent to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in 2012.

Warlords Of Ivory is produced for National Geographic Channel by National Geographic Studios. For National Geographic Studios, producer is J.J. Kelley, executive producers are Jared Lipworth and Dave Snyder, vice president of production is Brian Lovett and president is Brooke Runnette. For National Geographic Channels International, Hamish Mykura is Executive Vice President and Head of International Content.

Warlords Of Ivory airs on Saturday, 19 September at 20:05 on National Geographic, channel 181 on DStv.