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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.

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Displaying results 1 - 14 of 14
Saturday, 29 April 2023
2023. Vietnam seizes 16 kg of smuggled rhino horns, ivory.

Vietnam has seized 11.8 kilograms of rhino horns and 4.7 kilograms of elephant ivory in checked-in luggage on a flight from Qatar, Vietnam News Agency reported on Thursday. Customs officers at Noi Bai international airport in Vietnam’s capital of Hanoi found the smuggled rhino horns and ivory in 41 packages wrapped in aluminum foil in two sets of luggage of a Vietnamese man who had traveled from Angola, transited through Doha, Qatar, and arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday. The seizure came after a random check, and the luggage owner claimed that a person had paid him 50…

Saturday, 29 April 2023
Ngounou B 2023. Chad: A sudden resumption of elephant poaching worries civil society.

At least five elephants were shot and stripped of their tusks in early April 2023 in southern Chad. Shocked by this wildlife crime, the organisation SOS Elephants of Chad is calling on the government to act firmly against the resurgence of poaching of Chad’s endangered elephants.

Wednesday, 26 April 2023
2023. Hanoi: Detecting 11.82 kg of rhino horn and 4,712 kg of ivory smuggled by air.

The functional forces have just discovered a package containing 11.82 kg of rhino horn and 4,712 kg of smuggled ivory transported on a flight from Doha (Quatar) to Vietnam. When scanning the above 02 pieces of luggage through a portable scanner, the Import Baggage Procedure Team discovered suspicious images of rhino horns and ivory, so they invited Ninh Ba Dien passenger to the headquarters. for fact check. According to the inspection results, in addition to his carry-on luggage, Mr.

Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Tchindele P 2023. Ivory and rhino horn is being smuggled through Angola by traffickers disguised as tourists.

The Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport, Angola's capital city Luanda, has recently been the gateway for many disguised tourists, with the clear intention of illicit trafficking of ivory and rhino horn. In the last three months alone, the Criminal Investigation Service (SIC), coordinating with other forces in the airport's security system, detained two Vietnamese citizens in possession of 26 kilograms of ivory worked into jewellery; four kilograms of raw ivory; rhino horns, weighing 6.6 kilograms; and five rolls of elephant tail yarn, weighing eight grams.

Thursday, 13 April 2023
Ngounou B 2023. Gabon: Four suspected ivory traffickers arrested in Makokou.

Four individuals involved in the illegal trafficking of four ivory tips were arrested on April 5 and 6, 2023 in Makokou, a town in northeastern Gabon. The elephant population in Gabon remains threatened despite regular ivory seizures by Water and Forestry agents. This observation has led civil society to explore actions upstream of the ivory trade process. In Gabon, efforts to fight crime related to protected wildlife species have just resulted in new arrests.

Thursday, 13 April 2023
Hattingh E 2023. Syndikate diversifizieren illegale Aktivitäten.

Die Strafverfolgungsbehörden in Namibia, Mosambik und Sambia werden immer aufmerksamer, wenn es um den illegalen Schmuggel von u. a. Abalonen (Meeresschnecken) durch ihre Länder geht. Denn es mehren sich die Hinweise, dass dieselben Unternehmen und Personen, die in diesen Schmuggel verwickelt sind, auch an der Ausfuhr anderer illegaler Wildprodukte und weiteren illegalen Aktivitäten beteiligt sind. Demnach scheinen verschiedene Formen der Kriminalität mit dem illegalen Handel von Wildtieren zusammenzuhängen.

Tuesday, 11 April 2023
2023. Poachers kill five elephants in Chad.

Poachers have killed at least five elephants in the Sahel state of Chad, stoking fears for the country's surviving animals, an NGO said Tuesday. The elephants were found slaughtered in the Beinamar area, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of the capital N'Djamena, Adam Ahmat Assane, secretary of SOS Elephants, told AFP.

Tuesday, 11 April 2023
Hattingh E 2023. Smokkel wildprodukte saam met ander items.

Wetstoepassers in Namibië, asook in Mosambiek en Zambië begin al hoe meer let op die onwettige smokkelary van onder meer perlemoen deur hul lande. Dit omdat daar groeiende bewyse is dat dieselfde maatskappye en individue wat betrokke is in dié smokkelary, ook betrokke is in die uitvoer van onwettige wildprodukte en ander onwettige bedrywighede. Inteendeel, groeiende bewyse dui op 'n samevloeiing van ander vorme van misdaad met onwettige handel in wildprodukte.

Wednesday, 5 April 2023
Henning D 2023. Wildlife trafficking could return to prepandemic numbers.

As the world returns to post-covid normality, so do its trade routes and the unfortunate consequence of increased wildlife trafficking, experts say.

Tuesday, 4 April 2023
Kimbrough L 2023. Wildlife trafficking gradually returns after pandemic lull, mostly by sea.

Bulk shipments by sea accounted for most of the illegal wildlife parts seized by authorities around the world in 2022. The data, from U.S.-based nonprofit C4ADS, also show that seizures of elephant ivory, rhino horn and pangolin scales haven’t yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, the decline isn’t uniform across all countries, with China's late reopening from the pandemic this year indicating there might be an increase in trafficking in 2023, especially of ivory. C4ADS has called on law enforcement officials to focus on investigating…

Saturday, 1 April 2023
Mnindwa S 2023. Two arrested for ivory possession.

Police have arrested two Hwange men for unlawful possession of ivory. In a statement on twitter police wrote: "On 30/03/23, Police in Hwange acted on a tip-off and arrested Cephas Charumbira (40) and Dickson Munkombwa (45) for a case of unlawful possession of raw unmarked ivory without a permit. Detectives recovered four pieces of elephantivory measuring approximately 2x75cm, 1x15cm, and 1x10cm from the suspects."

Thursday, 31 August 2017
2017. Penalties for poaching.

Since 2012, after more than two decades of low numbers of poaching incidents involving elephant and rhino, Namibia has experienced an alarming increase in the poaching of these two species. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism recently reported that a total of 245 elephants were poached between 2014 and 2017, while a total of 241 rhino were poached between 2012 and 2017.

Friday, 11 August 2017
2017. Chinese underworld exposed.

Chinese 'mafia' groups are said to be driving unprecedented wildlife crime and environmental destruction in Namibia. The unprecedented growth of Chinese immigration has brought with it the feared Chinese organised crime syndicates called triads, who are working in cahoots with Namibian crime syndicates, a renowned private investigator has observed. Andrew Fordred claims these Chinese criminals are not entrepreneurs seeking to make a quick, if dishonest, buck. Instead, they are part of ancient and well-organised criminal groups with "fierce internal discipline".

Friday, 11 August 2017
Nhongo K 2017. Outrage over N$20,000 ivory smuggling fine.

Environmentalists and conservation groups have expressed their dismay over the decision by the Windhoek High Court to fine two ivory smugglers only N$20,000, saying such a slap on the wrist defeats Government’s efforts to curb poaching.

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