Gang of three
arrested with pangolin scales
Three awaiting trial for pangolin scales trafficking |
On November
22, wildlife officials led an operation with the Judicial Police at the Camp
Yabassi neighbourhoud in Douala to arrest three traffickers who had been unlawfully
selling pangolins scales.
The three
were arrested and taken to the Bonanjo Judicial Police station were they would
spend the night and the following day, they were taken to the Littoral Regional
Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife for the commencement of interrogations and
the drafting of a compliant report. Two days later, they were presented to the
state counsel who remanded them in custody awaiting trial. The operation was
carried out with the technical support of LAGA, an organization specialized in
wildlife law enforcement. During the investigations leading to their arrests,
according to sources that requested for anonymity, key details of the
trafficking network emerged.
According to the sources, the
gang operated in the East Region, principally in Doume were two of the three
were based and in Douala. The two who were based in Doume bought pangolin
scales from other smaller traffickers, in the small town and villages around,
putting together hundreds of kilogrammes of scales and would travel to the
Douala to hook up with the third trafficker who did the marketing, searching
for clients, negotiating the prices and selling the products. This was done
from his home and it was during this transaction that police and wildlife
officials made an incursion in the scene and arrested them red-handed. Five
bags of pangolins scales weighing 128kg were recovered from the scene. Our sources told us that the illegal business
had been going on at this premises for some time and ivory was one of the major
products that was trafficked by the gang. Prior investigations had equally
established that the gang was deeply involved in ivory trafficking.
Awaiting trial for pangolin scales trafficking |
Wildlife officials in Sangmelima
arrested three traffickers and four ivory tusks and giant pangolins scales were
seized and about a week later, police arrested three people at the Bois de
Singe neighourhood in Douala, 158 ivory tusks and 500kg of pangolin scales
heading for Nigeria were seized. Two different operations in different two
different towns, within a week but having one thing in common, ivory and
pangolin scales. Several operations carried out within the framework of the
initiative started by the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife in 2003 to
effectively track and arrest traffickers have indicated there is a link between
ivory and pangolin trafficking and the bigger picture seems to have finally
emerged warranting an intensification of enforcement measures.
According to the wildlife law
anyone found in possession of part or whole of a protected wildfire species is
considered to have killed or captured the animal and could face an imprisonment
term of up to 3 years. The three suspects aged 42, 41 and 33 who are presently
behind bars may stay there for a very long time if they are found guilty during
a trial that shall soon be coming up.
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