Search results

Another case of dealing in controlled wildlife products has been reported in Kavango West, involving a 29-year-old man who was found with two pangolin skins on Tuesday. This comes after two men, aged 36 and 44, were arrested for being in possession of a live pangolin in Kakoro village recently. NamPol spokesperson Inspector Raimbert Muronga said that the 29-year-old suspect was arrested around 13:00 in Nkurenkuru town.

Two men, aged 36 and 44, were arrested after being found in possession of a live pangolin in Kakoro village, Kavango West. NamPol Head of Media, Chief Inspector Elifas Kuwinga, reported that the arrests occurred on Sunday around 16:00. Both suspects are Namibian nationals. "They were apprehended after being discovered in possession of a live pangolin valued at N$50 000 during a police operation," he said. Kuwinga said that the duo is facing charges related to dealing with and possessing controlled wildlife products.

Seven people have been arrested in relation to three wildlife crimes that took place between 17 and 23 April. According to the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, these incidents occurred in the Kavango East, Kunene, and Erongo Regions. Two out of the three cases reported during that period involve high-value species. In the first case, registered at the Opuwo Police Station in the Kunene Region, the police arrested three men for possessing four counterfeit rhino horns.

Commissioner Naftal Lungameni Sakaria, the Oshana Regional Police Commander, was recently named the Gold Commander for the Etosha National Park Anti-poaching Safety and Security squad. Sakaria was named on March 23 and will, for the next six months, be in charge of directing the joint Nampol/NDF operational work in the Etosha National Park. He said that he will concurrently be in charge of the Oshana Region and also the anti-poaching operations in Etosha. "I have already been to Etosha, rotated the personnel and properly briefed them," he said.

Two people were detained Wednesday after they were found in possession of a skin of a pangolin which is a protected species. The two were apprehended at a temporary roadblock on the Omuthiya-Ondangwa main road. They are both from Windhoek. According to the regional commander of the police in Oshikoto, Commissioner Teopolina Kalompo-Nashikaku, the skin is valued N$50 000.

Four newly registered wildlife crime cases have been made between 11 and 12 October and five Namibian men were arrested in relation to these cases. This was revealed by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism's weekly wildlife crime statistics. These statistics indicate that two elephant tusks, two live pangolins and four full duiker carcasses were confiscated after the arrest of the suspects, which took place in the Oshana, Kavango East and Omaheke regions.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said the illegal capture, killing and trade of pangolins for international markets has increased in recent years. Since 2017, the ministry recorded 320 pangolin poaching cases in the country. Of those, the highest number was reported in 2019 with 96 cases, followed by 62 in 2018, 60 in 2020, 59 in 2021, with the lowest reported in 2017, namely 43 cases.

The Namibian Police Force in the Oshana Region have arrested a 41-year-old man after he was found in possession of protected wildlife products at Oshakati. According to an arrest report provided by the Public Relation Division of the Namibian Police, a case of possession of controlled wildlife products was registered on Friday evening. "The suspect was arrested at Okatana Service Station in Oshakati, after he was found in possession of a pangolin skin," said police.

Two men, that attempted to sell seven unpolished diamonds and a pangolin skin, were arrested in Tsumeb during a sting operation earlier this week. The 30-year-old and 50-year-old suspects were apprehended during an undercover operation staged by the Protected Resources Sub Division of the Namibian Police. The Regional Police Commander, Commissioner Armas Shivute said the duo were found with one pangolin skin valued at N$ 50 000 and seven unpolished diamonds of which the value still has to be determined.

A man was arrested at Okandjengendi on Monday while trying to sell to undercover police officers a live pangolin.

NINE men were arrested over the past for the poaching of protected wildlife species. This is according to environment ministry spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, who stated that the suspects form part of the three newly registered wildlife criminal cases. It is alleged that Gideon Gao-Naseb, Timotheus Kasera and Champion Haraseb killed a rhino at the Omateva farm in the Omitara constituency. They now face charges of hunting of specially protected species and the removal of protected products. The trio was arrested on 20 August and have been remanded in custody.

The arrest of four people in the Zambezi Region on Sunday while they were in possession of wildlife contraband during concentrated operations by Namibian law enforcement agencies, revealed a smuggling route that stretches over Namibia’s borders with neighbouring Botswana and Zambia. The four accused persons, of whom two are teenage children and the third a Zambian national, appeared in three separate cases in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.