Search results

A member of a poaching syndicate has appeared in court for allegedly gunning down a bull elephant valued at US$50 000.

For decades the area surrounding the serene and picturesque Jozini Dam and Pongola Nature Reserve has been a tourist mecca, drawing well-heeled local and international visitors keen on seeing nature at its best, including cruises to watch elephants grazing and to spot rare species. Luxury lodges and hundreds of workers depend on the viability of the local tourist attractions and a constant stream of high-spending visitors.

A court in Vietnam on Tuesday sentenced a man to 13 years in prison for trafficking nearly 10 tons of endangered animal parts from Africa, including ivory and rhino horns, police said. The court in the central coastal city of Danang found Nguyen Duc Tai, 33, guilty of transporting elephant tusks, ivory, pangolin scales and lion bones from Africa to Vietnam in 2021, the police-run ministry of public security said. Trade in ivory is illegal in Vietnam but wildlife trafficking remains widespread.

A 34-year-old Harare man has appeared before magistrate Dennis Mangosi charged with illegal possession of ivory. Author Edwin Kowe of Stone Ridge, was arrested on February 19, 2023 after being trapped by detectives from the Police Minerals Flora and Fauna Section who posed as potential buyers. One of the detectives pretended to be an ivory buyer, while the other team carried out surveillance as backup. The detective who was acting as the buyer phoned the accused person and lured him to Waterworks along Chiremba Road.

Singapore: The director of a trading firm was sentenced to 10 months' jail on Wednesday (Feb 15) for importing 1,787 pieces of elephant tusks from Africa into Singapore, en route to Vietnam. The tusks of the endangered species weighed 3,480kg and were found in a 40-foot container at Pasir Panjang Scanning Station in March 2018. Vietnam national and Singapore permanent resident Dao Thi Boi, 40, had claimed trial to the charge under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act. She was the director of VNSG Trading and Song Hong Trading and Logistics at the…

A Vietnamese citizen was detained in Luanda when he tried to embark for Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, with more than three kilograms of ivory, disguised in bags of sweets, reported the Criminal Investigation Service (SIC).

A 35-year-old Vietnamese citizen was arrested at Luanda International Airport, accused of trafficking 3.6 kilograms of ivory, concealed in candy wrappers.

Detido vietnamita no Aeroporto 4 de Fevereiro por tráfico de marfim dissimulado em embalagens de rebuçados Um cidadão vietnamita, de 35 anos, foi detido no Aeroporto Internacional de Luanda, acusado de traficar 3,6 quilogramas de marfim, dissimulados em embalagens de rebuçados.

Two hundred kilogrammes of shark fin were seized at Maputo International Airport two weeks ago, but the case is still under investigation and the Director general of Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC), Celmira da Silva said he could not provide further details on the subject. Integrity Magazine tried to question who owned the cargo as well as its origin and final destination, but without success.

The four men who were arrested at Okahandja on Sunday and Monday for alleged possession of an elephant tusk, are set to appear in the magistrate’s court at the town this week. Namibian Police Force spokesperson in the Otjozondjupa Region, Inspector Maureen Mbeha in an interview with Nampa on Tuesday said three male suspects aged 23, 28, and 29 were arrested Sunday morning at a restaurant in Okahandja, where they allegedly intended to sell the elephant tusk to a local buyer.

Vietnamese authorities have over the past week seized more than 600 kilograms of ivory smuggled from Africa, the government said on Monday. Trade in ivory is illegal in Vietnam but wildlife trafficking remains widespread. Other items often found smuggled into the country include pangolin scales, rhino horns and tiger carcasses. Customs authorities in the northern port city of Haiphong on Monday found nearly 130 kilograms of ivory hidden in a container of cow horns originated from Africa, the government said in a statement.

‘n Bejaarde man is gister by die Swakopmundrivier-plotte glo met ‘n ou renosterhoring en vyf stukke olifanttande in sy besit vasgetrek. Volgens die Namibiese polisie se misdaadverslag volg die inhegtenisneming van die 69-jarige man nadat die volgende ander items ná ‘n soektog glo in sy besit gevind is: 27 patrone van ‘n .308-geweer, twee patrone van ‘n R1- outomatiese aanvalsgeweer en 33 patrone van ‘n .22-vuurwapen.

An intense debate continues to rage over whether the Namibian government should maintain its existing stockpiles of collected legal and confiscated illegal ivory. Trading in valuable wildlife products is one of the most important incentives for Namibia's coexistence with wildlife, especially rhinos and elephants, to support its conservation. There are two categories of stockpiles: Those held legally and those held illegally. Legally-held stockpiles consist of raw ivory, and are mostly owned by the government under the Controlled Wildlife Products and Trade Act 9 of 2008…

The suspects belong to an organized ivory trafficking network whose ramifications extend as far as Nigeria. Six suspected ivory traffickers were arrested in early December in the eastern region of Cameroon, in a joint operation by the departmental delegation of the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife and the police. This operation was carried out with technical assistance from LAGA, an NGO specializing in law enforcement on wildlife. Two of the suspects were arrested on December 2 in Bertoua, the regional capital, with four ivory tusks, two of which came from baby…

At least 12 elephants have been killed in Tanzania in the past three months in what the country's national parks watchdog has described as a new wave of poaching.

Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI) has formulated a wildlife protection project setting up a task force project to end ivory poaching and trafficking. It as well would introduce much stronger custodial sentences, if criminals are caught with Illegal Wildlife Trade. Kumera Wakjira, Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority General Director, said that the project is aimed at combatting wildlife crime. Kumera added that the project has set up an Environmental Crime Unit and regional task forces to combat wildlife crime.

It's clear why the illegal wildlife trade exists. Where there's consumer demand for products from endangered species, there are bound to be networks seeking to profit from that demand. But what about the motivations of individual offenders? TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade NGO, decided to simply ask them. The researchers interviewed 73 people in South African correctional centers, who had been convicted of crimes related to rhinos, abalone, or cycads (ancient palm-like plants that have been called "the world's most endangered plants").