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| Arrested wildlife trafficker |
A man was arrested in Njombe, in the
Littoral Region, for illegal possession of sea turtle shells. Sea turtles are a
protected wildlife species.
The 39-year old man was arrested on 7 July
2016 during a crackdown operation by wildlife officials from the Njombe -Penja
Forestry and Wildlife Control Post who were accompanied by the gendarmerie. The
suspect who had been under investigation for several months was arrested as he
sat on a motorcycle in front of the EgliseEvangeligue in Njombe.
He
rode the motorcycle with the bag of shells strapped to the backseat and stopped
just a few metres to the church building, then made rapid glances at the
surroundings before making a phone call. As he called, wildlife officials who
had been tracking his movements quickly made it fast to the bike where he was
briefly questioned before being arrested. He was taken to Penja where the
forestry and wildlife control post is located.
The
Last Great Ape Organisation – LAGA provided technical assistance during the
operation.
Sources
close to the case say the man has been in the business for several years and
sells a variety of wildlife products. He admitted to wildlife officials that he
also sells crocodiles and several primate species and that his client base was
wide and varied.
A
photo of a Nile monitor tied to his bike was found inside his phone.
NjockFilibertEwozouk an assistant forestry technician who was part of the team
declared after the operation that: “this was a case study of law enforcement as
it raised the curiosity of some who may now understand that selling wildlife
species is an illegal and destructive activity”.
According
to the Filibert, the operation will help to sensitize people around the Njombe
– Penja area about the illegality of commercializing protected wildlife which
is a regular activity of some people in the area.
A
case file has been established against the trafficker who was held in custody
at the gendarmerie bridage in Penja awaiting the completion of the process.
“We
are going to complete the dossier and move to the next step which is forwarding
the case file to the state counsel. Our Ministry is very strict on this and
those who think they are going to destroy our forests are being misled,”
NjockFilibert said.
The
arrest of the dealer in Penja is one of several cases of arrests carried out in
the country in the recent past and in many other African countries applying the
same law enforcement model as Cameroon. These arrests have a clear message –
that the illegal trade in protected wildlife species is the main cause for the
massacre of Africa’s wildlife to extinction and for this reason government is
sending out a signal that it shall not stand by and look on as species are
killed to extinction. It is also informing potential traffickers or those
interested in the illegal activity that the trade is prohibited and the law is
actively applied against offenders.
Sea
turtles are listed in Class A which is reserved for animals that are totally
protected and may in no condition be subjected to trade.
Many
other species including chimpanzees, gorillas, several monkey species etc are
all found in this same class. According to NjockFillibertEwozouck the objective
of this classification “is to protect the animals in such a way that they can
reproduce and replenish their numbers”. Trafficking in wildlife species is
undermining this effort.
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