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| Leopard skin and ivory seized from a Catholic priest |
A catholic priest was arrested on April 20,
2017 after he was found in possession of 2 ivory tusks, a skin and several
teeth from a freshly killed leopard. The
clergy man travelled from Mvangan to Sangmenlima in the South Region
where he attempted to sell the wildlife contraband. It is expected that the
suspect who is presently behind bars would be charged on three counts including
unlawful possession and commercialization
of parts of protected species and the killing of the species – that is
the elephant and the leopard.
According
to preliminary investigations, the clergy man is suspected to have been
trafficking ivory for a long time and a source close to the matter who spoke on
condition of anonymity said the catholic priest had been trafficking in ivory
for over 5 years and had developed a network of poachers to whom he supplied
basically everything they needed for poaching. These items included arms and
bullets, clothing and cover. He equally supplied food to the families of
poachers who were on poaching expeditions that could run up to weeks.
He
was arrested during an operation carried out by the Dja and Lobo Divisional
Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife in collaboration with the Sangmelima
Gendarmerie Territorial Brigade. The Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA)
provided technical assistance during the whole process that involved a thorough
investigation into the illegal activity of the prelate. After his arrests, the
car he used was immediately taken to the
delegation’s office where it is stationed and could be impounded. He drove the
car from Mvangan with the products hidden inside.
According
to the same sources , he supplies raw ivory tusks to other traffickers
based in Sangmelima, Douala and Yaounde
and uses his religious status to drive pass through check points unperturbed as
few check points officials would dare suspect a catholic priest to be carrying
ivory contraband. This is a common routine among traffickers who always use a
front profession for the cover needed to effectively carry out trafficking.
This is not the fast time a man of God has been arrested for wildlife
trafficking. A pastor was arrested on December 16, 2015 as he tried to sell 19
chimp skulls in Yaounde. He had travelled from Meyomessala in the South Region
to Yaounde and shortly after he arrived, he hired a taxi which took him to a
popular neighbourhood in Yaounde to hook up with a client and got himself
picked up by wildlife officials.
The
illegal trade in ivory has pushed elephants to the bring of extinction in
several Afircan countries and ivory has become a coveted commodity by those
living in areas that still have populations of elephants. They are shot and
killed and their tusks hacked off. The poachers who supply ivory tusks to the
priest would cut off the parts with chain saws.
The
arrest is described by some who work in the sector as very important because it
provides sufficient indication into how deep and complex the illegal ivory trade runs and how wide
afield are those involved in it – some coming from very unsuspecting quarters
indeed.
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