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The Nigerian government says it will not relent in its efforts in the fight against wildlife crime in the country. Nigeria's Minister of State for Environment Dr Iziaq Salako stated this at the "public unveiling of an elephant sculpture constructed from the pulverized Wildlife stockpile” held in Abuja, Nigeria's capital. He said that the government would be resolute in enforcing laws and upscale the deployment of technology in fighting wildlife criminals. "I must warn that those engaged in the crime of illegal wildlife trade are very tenacious and do not give up easily.

In a major breakthrough for wildlife conservation efforts, the Special Wildlife Investigation Unit (SWIU) has successfully apprehended Amadou Bah, an internationally renowned trafficker of pangolin scales. This significant arrest comes after Bah had eluded capture since January 2024, following the seizure of 176 kilos of pangolin scales in Grand Gedah County, Liberia. The SWIU, mentored by Focused Conservation, is comprised of officers from the Liberia National Police, Liberia Forestry Development Authority, and Liberia Customs.

The wildlife crime cases over the last two years have mostly involved antelopes, pangolins, small mammals, rhinos and elephants.

The Namibian authorities arrested 654 people linked to 389 wildlife-crime cases registered in the country last year. This is according to a 2023 national report on wildlife protection and law enforcement in Namibia completed by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism. The report shows that 96 wildlife-crime court cases were finalised. Twelve cases involving pangolins, eight cases for elephants, four cases involving trees and an additional four cases involving rhinos were finalised in court.

Two suspects appeared in the Bronkhorstspruit Magistrate's Court in Gauteng on charges of possession of endangered species. This follows the arrest of two suspects, aged 43 and 45, on Friday, June 28. The provincial police spokesperson Captain Tintswalo Sibeko said an operation was conducted by the Cullinan Stock Theft and Endangered Species (STES) Unit successfully dismantled the endangered species trafficking operation.

The Cullinan Stock Theft and Endangered Species (STES) Unit successfully Dismantle Endangered Species Trafficking Operation. On Friday, 28 June 2024, the Cullinan STES unit conducted a successful undercover operation resulting in the arrest of two suspects for the possession of endangered species. The operation was initiated after receiving information that two pangolins were being offered for sale in Mabopane. The suspects aged 43 and 45 were arrested and four cell phones and two pangolins were seized. The pangolins were taken to the Johannesburg Wildlife Hospital for care.

Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) can and must do more to address the dire impacts of the global illegal pangolin trade A new briefing document outlines the Environmental Investigation Agency's (EIA) findings and recommendations on key issues relating to global illegal pangolin trade. EIA says that following decades of overexploitation due to international trade, in 2016 all eight pangolin species were uplisted from Appendix II to Appendix I to Cites.

In a separate case, another Namibian national Ignasius Mbaraka was arrested at Outjo on 17 September, also in connection with an old case for conspiring to hunt a rhino. The case dates back to June when a rhino carcass and a vehicle were confiscated. He has been charged with the illegal hunting of specially protected game and for conspiring to hunt specially protected game. He is also a Namibian. Meanwhile, Namibian Alberto Johannes Joel was arrested on 12 September in Otavi for being in the possession of a pangolin. The case was not reported last week.

Three men have been arrested in connection with wildlife crime, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said in a weekly wildlife crime report on Wednesday. According to the report, Alberto Johannes Joel was arrested on 12 September this year at Otavi in the Otjozondjupa region. He was reportedly found in possession of a live pangolin. Another suspect, Ignasius Mbaraka Mutunda, was arrested in connection with a June 2020 case when he was allegedly found in possession of a rhino carcass. He was arrested on Friday at Outjo in the Kunene region.

The Chief Resident Magistrate Court in Lilongwe has set 27 September, 2021, as the day for delivering judgement against a Chinese national, Yunhua Lin, who is answering charges of money laundering and rhino horn trafficking. Lin came to Malawi as an investor like many do but without proper screening and vetting, the country let in a criminal who is destroying our current and future economy. Lin is a member of one of Southern Africa’s most prolific wildlife trafficking syndicates, which has been operating out of Malawi for at least a decade.