Some 90 suspected wildlife traffickers were arrested across seven African countries last year. The arrests carried out in Cote d’Ivoire, Congo, Guinea, Uganda, Senegal, Togo and Cameroon were done during crackdown operations carried out under the framework of the government’s collaboration leading anti-wildlife crime organization, Eco Activists for Governance and Law Enforcement (EAGLE), the network that assists wildlife officials in the application of the wildlife law in these countries has disclosed.
It said they were arrested while trafficking in protected wildlife species including elephant tusks, leopard skins, lion skins, primates and pangolin scales. Sixty-four ivory traffickers were arrested with over 474kg of elephant tusks including 67kg elephant tusks and 260 ivory pieces seized during operations that were done in Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, The Republic of Congo and Cameroon, the network said. Thirteen big cat skin traffickers were also arrested in Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire and Uganda, as well as, eight primate traffickers arrested during operations carried out in these countries including Cameroon, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire. Two other traffickers were arrested in Congo with 81kg of endangered giant pangolin scales, EAGLE explained in a statement released this week.
Among some of the traffickers arrested are four major wildlife traffickers arrested in Cote d’Ivoire during a crackdown on what EAGLE described as a notorious Koumassi criminal network. The lobby group said the Koumassi group was connected to two Asian criminal syndicates which they supplied large quantities of ivory tusks and pangolin scales to. “One of the traffickers was arrested with more than 200 carved ivory items and the others were later arrested in their shops with more than 30 carved items,” EAGLE explained in that statement. “Three traffickers including a warrant officer and a sacked army sergeant were also arrested in Cameroon with three and a half elephant tusks. One of the military officers resisted arrest violently making threats to the arresting force. Four other traffickers were arrested in Congo with three elephant tusks in a crackdown on judicial corruption. One of them, the head clerk of the High Court of Dolisie used his position to traffic seized ivory from the court’s evidence room. He was denounced by the other traffickers and a raid was conducted at his home which led to his arrest. Two of the tusks had marks of already seized and labelled tusk of previous elephant tusks operation of 2021,” the anti-wildlife crime network explained without revealing names of the suspects.
EAGLE said further that four traffickers including a veteran soldier were also arrested near the Tai National Park during a crackdown operation carried out in Cote d’Ivoire. The traffickers, the network explained, had intended to use the profit from the illegal transaction to generate the killing of elephants in the park. “More to these traffickers, is an ape trafficker and two others who were arrested with a live baby chimp and gorilla’s parts in Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon,” the network said.
The trade in wildlife protected species especially the elephant is far from ending soon despite enforcement efforts carried out by governments and wildlife law enforcement bodies to create deterrence.
EAGLE network is made up of NGOs, including LAGA that prides itself LAGA as the first Wildlife Law Enforcement NGO in Africa, working in collaboration with some governments on the continent to improve on the application of national environmental legislation. The EAGLE network is active in Cameroon Congo, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo, and Uganda working closely with the governments of these countries to combat illegal wildlife trade.
