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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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Spanish police have investigated a woman found with a suitcase filled with 15 pangolin carcasses flying into Madrid last week. Civil Guard officers made the shocking discovery during customs checks on passengers arriving from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia last Monday. An X-ray scan of the suitcase at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport flagged abnormalities, found to be tiny pangolin bodies wrapped in plastic and weighing a total of 40kg.
Maputo - Gorongosa National Park (PNG), in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, has recovered 160 pangolins from trafficking routes over the last eight years. The pangolin (sometimes known as the scaly anteater) is one of the species most under threat from poaching in Mozambique. Pangolins have the unique characteristic of being the only terrestrial mammals entirely covered in scales, and their existence is becoming increasingly rare.
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| MOZ_2026_03_Mozambique_ 60 pangolins rescued from traffickers_AllAfrica.pdf | 49.24 KB |
A new global report reveals that over half a million pangolins were seized between 2016 and 2024, highlighting urgent conservation needs despite intensified Namibian protection. The report, 'Conservation Status, Trade and Enforcement Efforts for Pangolins', released at the end of last year, provides the most up-to-date review of pangolin conservation status and legal and illegal trade.
The Ministry of Tourism has warned members of the public against engaging in the illegal trade of pangolins and their products following a continued rise in related arrests. In a press statement issued to the media by Ministry of Tourism Principle Public Relations Officer Nelly Banda, through the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), revealed that 154 pangolin-related arrests were recorded between January 2024 and December 2025.
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| ZAM_2026_02_Government warns against engaging in illegal trade of pangolins_Lusaka Times.pdf | 49.32 KB |
The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Ogun 1 Area Command, Idiroko, says it intercepted four live Pangolins, an endangered species, along the Yemoamota-Abule-Igboora axis of the state. The Deputy Superintendent of NCS, Chado Zakari, who doubles as the Command’s spokesperson, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen on Saturday in Ota. Zakari explained that the seizure underscored the Service’s unwavering commitment to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, CITES.
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| NIG_2026_02_Customs intercepts four live Pangolins in Ogun_Daily Post Nigeria.pdf | 374.68 KB |
Three suspects are expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court in the Free State on charges of possession of endangered species The suspects, aged 31, 35, and 36, are from Kuruman. The provincial police spokesperson, Sergeant Sinah Mpakane, said the suspects were arrested on Tuesday, February 10.
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| SA_2026_02_Three suspects nabbed in Bloemfontein for trafficking endangered pangolins_IOL.pdf | 654.74 KB |
Three suspects were arrested in Garies on Monday, 2 February 2026 at approximately 22:00 on the N7 road for being illegally in possession of protected species in Contravention of the Northern Cape Nature Conservation Act 9/2009, Sections 3 and 4. The suspects aged, 21, 29 and 37 were apprehended following a high-speed pursuit after they failed to stop when directed by police officials.