Search results

Namibian Wildlife Crimes article archive

This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:

  • provide easy public access to published information and statistics
  • enable easy stakeholder access to articles
  • provide a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia

Public access to information is a vital component of ensuring community engagement in prevalent issues. Wildlife crime is one of the pressing environmental issues of our time.

Wildlife crime investigations are generally covert operations requiring utmost confidentiality to succeed. Investigations and prosecutions in complex cases may take months or even years to complete. For this reason, the information that can be released to the public without compromising cases is often limited. Nonetheless, the Namibian government strives to share as much information as possible with the public.

The Namibian media has welcomed this approach and regularly publishes statistics and feature articles on wildlife crime. These are entered into the database at regular intervals, creating a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia.

Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.

Displaying results 1 - 5 of 5
Tuesday, 10 February 2026
2026. Thailand intercepts rhino horn smuggling route to Laos.

Thai wildlife authorities have arrested a Vietnamese man at Suvarnabhumi Airport and seized 11.75 kilograms of rhino horn, disrupting a transnational wildlife trafficking operation that used Thailand as a transit point en route to Laos. Sadudee Phanphakdee, director of the Office of Wildlife and Plant Protection under the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said the arrest followed joint operations with C.I.Q. agencies and the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division police to curb cross-border wildlife trafficking.

Friday, 30 January 2026
2026. LATF cripples a cross-border ivory trafficking network in a coordinated multi-agency sting operation.

Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF), working in close collaboration with national law enforcement agencies and a partner (Freeland), successfully concluded a coordinated multi-agency operation that resulted in the arrest of suspected wildlife traffickers and the seizure of illegal elephant ivory in Namanga, a border town between Kenya and Tanzania. The operation, conducted on 24th January 2026, forms part of LATF's ongoing efforts to support Member States in dismantling organised transnational wildlife crime networks operating across Africa.

Thursday, 6 November 2025
Parafini Z 2025. Chinese man convicted for illegal possession of rhino horns worth US$120 000 faces mandatory nine-year sentence.

A Chinese man has been found guilty of illegal possession of a pair of rhino horns worth US$120 000 and faces the nine-year mandatory jail sentence for the offence. Fuxi Wang, who had initially pleaded not guilty, was convicted after a full trial by Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo. He is expected back in court on Thursday, November 6 2025 for sentencing. The court heard that on February 20 this year, Wang wanted to export a purported sculpture from Zimbabwe to China through the Robert Gabriel International Airport.

Tuesday, 4 November 2025
2025. Poachers pay price: Pangolin pelt lands duo 9 years.

Two Matabeleland South men will spend the next nine years in prison after being caught trying to sell a 1.6kg pangolin skin at a long distance bus terminus in Bulawayo. Mlamuleli Moyo (35) of Maphosa Homestead in Matopo and Gugulethu Ncube (21) of Mbofana Homestead, Figtree, were convicted at the Bulawayo Tredgold Magistrates' Court for unlawful possession of a pangolin skin, a trophy from a specially protected animal under the Parks and Wildlife Act.

Wednesday, 2 July 2025
Zhakata I 2025. Elephant killed in Hwange National Park.

A male elephant has been killed by poachers in Hwange National Park, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has said. The carcass was discovered in the Main Camp area of the park with one tusk missing and flesh removed from its leg. ZimParks spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo said the jumbo might have been dead for about two days at the time of discovery. He said a distinctive shoe spoor was found at the scene, and a joint investigation with the Zimbabwe Republic Police is now underway.

NOT FOUND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR? AMEND YOUR SEARCH...