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In a significant victory against transnational wildlife crime, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced the arrest of a suspected high-level Chinese wildlife trafficker in Lagos. Acting on intelligence provided by the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), NCS carried out the arrest on 19 February 2025. This operation represents a critical disruption to organised wildlife crime networks operating between Nigeria and Asia. The arrest was linked to a warehouse raid in Ogun, Nigeria that led to a major pangolin scale seizure in August 2024, following intelligence provided by the…

On March 23, 2025, a critical wildlife crime operation unfolded in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, a known hub for organized crime and wildlife trafficking. With assistance from Focused Conservation, the Nigeria Special Wildlife Office (NSWO), supported by the Nigeria Customs Police, executed Operation Willow - an intelligence-driven sting to dismantle a key trafficking network supplying pangolin scales. The NSWO acted on intelligence indicating that a trafficker in the region was actively supplying pangolin scales for the illegal wildlife trade.

The Executive Director of the Pangolin Conservation Foundation, Kelsey Prediger, says that the illegal hunting and trade of pangolins has escalated into a crisis requiring global attention. Prediger made this remark during the celebration of World Pangolin Day, which takes place on February 15. This year's celebration was postponed due to a national mourning period following the passing of Namibia's Founding President, Sam Nujoma. Pangolins are hunted and sold illegally; their scales are used in traditional medicine, and their meat is considered a delicacy in some cultures.

In the war on poaching, some of the best defenders have four legs. Trained canines are used in some of South Africa's national parks to detect wildlife contraband like rhino horns, pangolin scales, and ivory at airports and roadblocks. Other dogs are trained to track and apprehend poachers in the field. According to Save the Rhino, 9,885 rhinos have been lost to poaching in the last decade. But Carl Thornton, founder and director of Pit-Track K9 Conservation and Anti-Poaching Unit, says the numbers are likely much higher.

Die Polizei hat einen Mann am vergangenen Freitag in Katutura festgenommen, der im Besitz von sieben Schuppentierpanzern war. Das geht aus dem Polizeibericht vom Wochenende hervor. Der Verdächtige soll versucht haben, die Panzer zu verkaufen. Er habe die Exemplare einem verdeckten Polizeibeamten angeboten. Daraufhin sei der Mann in Gewahrsam genommen worden. Der Verdächtige sollte am Montag vor dem Amtsgericht in Katutura erscheinen. Die polizeilichen Ermittlungen dauern weiter an. Schuppentiere gelten zu den in Namibia streng geschützten Tierarten.

A 29-year-old man was arrested on Monday morning after allegedly being found in possession of a protected wildlife product at Rundu in the Kavango East Region. The Namibian Police Force's Chief Inspector in the Kavango East Region, Melanie Mburu told Nampa on Tuesday that the suspect was found in possession of a pangolin skin at Rundu's Ngandu Lodge at around 11h30.

Authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo have seized $3.5 million worth of ivory, rhinoceros horn and pangolin scales in a joint operation with United States officials, the U.S. embassy in Kinshasa said on Monday. Two wildlife traffickers were also arrested in the United States on Nov. 4, following a more than two-year investigation between the two countries and global police agency Interpol.

Airlink, the privately owned Southern African regional airline, will implement a company-wide programme involving training, new processes and supply chain interventions to identify and combat illicit wildlife trade. The illegal wildlife trade is valued between USD $50 to 150 billion (approximately between ZAR730 billion - ZAR 2,19 trillion at current exchange rates) per year and is one of the five most lucrative global crimes. Illegal killing and trading of wild animals is a global crisis, with species being hunted to extinction for their horns, skins and teeth.

Since the first reported pangolin seizure in Nigeria in 2010, the country has seen an explosion in the black market for the world's most trafficked mammal - becoming Africa's hub for the criminal export of pangolin products to East Asia. Use of pangolin scales in traditional Chinese medicines has resulted in Asian species declining dramatically this century.

Five men were arrested last week for conspiring to poach a rhino, while another was found guilty of illegal possession and dealing in python skins. He will have to cough up N$7 000 or spend 20 months behind bars. Meanwhile, three Namibians were arrested at Epukiro when they were found in possession of two live pangolins on 29 October. Tjovanga Kamburona, Tjarirove Kamburona and Nguvarua Tjombe were all charged for the illegal possession and dealing of controlled wildlife products.