Four Wildlife Traffickers Arrested in Santchou

Four Wildlife Traffickers Arrested in Santchou

Four people have been arrested in Santchou in the West Region for trafficking in pangolin scales, turtle shells, ivory and other elephant parts.

It took the combined efforts of the Santchou wildlife reserve, the Penka Michel and Nkong-Ni forestry and wildlife control posts in the Menoua Division and Gendarmerie research brigade in Dschang to mount a successful operation that saw the four who were just about to get business moving arrested.

            The four who had been charged with illegal possession and commercialization of parts of protected wildlife species and the killing of these species are still behind bars. They had each arrived at the scene on motorbikes and one of them, the lady, brought the ivory as they went in business negotiations. The products they were about to be trafficked were found in bags which were visibly placed in front of them. The operation was carried out with the technical assistance of a wildlife law enforcement support body, LAGA.

            According to some members of the operation team who requested to speak on condition of anonymity, they each had a specific wildlife product. They had contacts right up to Douala where investigations into their illegal activity first started and the  group was very professional in their dealings, according to the sources. One of them was always on the alert and when gendarmes and wildlife officials closed in on them, he starting running, attempting to escape but was immediately stopped in his tracks. He had been under investigations by the conservator of the Santchou wildlife sanctuary and knew he could be arrested anytime.

            Prior investigations had found out that the products were hidden in their respective homes and a house search that followed immediately their arrest drew some crowd and the four were immediately taken to Dschang where the investigation continued with the writing of the  complaint reports. The first hearing of the case took place on May 11, 2018 at the Dschang Court of First Instance.

            The operation was carried out close to the Santchou reserve and it is alleged that some of the wildlife may have been obtained from the reserve that has been stripped of almost all of its wildlife. The reserve that was once blossoming with elephants, buffaloes and many other wildlife species is just a shadow of what it used to be because the animals have been killed by poachers to supply the illegal market.  This has emptied the reserve and the problem has been compounded by the activities of the neighbouring population who have encroached into the reserve.  Farmland and houses have been erected in the protected area, jeopardizing the chances of its revival, although over the years, government has been saying it could be revived.