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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.

Pretoria - Two men aged 37 and 52, one a police constable, charged with illegal dealing in pangolin and contravention of the National Environmental Management-Biodiversity (Nemba) Act, have appeared before the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court.

Kameras sal Etosha help polisieer. Die land se gewysigde oorkoepelende plan teen wildmisdade wil eenvormige benadering vir doeltreffende afdwing van wette verseker.

Cameras will help police Etosha. The country's amended overarching plan against wildlife crimes seeks to ensure a uniform approach to effective law enforcement.

Kwale police have arrested two men who were illegally in possession of a pangolin. The two were nabbed at Malomani area in Samburu sub-county.

A national report on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement released recently said that Namibia has inadequate data about the Temminck's ground pangolin's distribution, density, and the impact poaching has on the population. The Temminck ground pangolin is one of the four species found in Africa and the only species in southern Africa. According to the report, only discovered carcasses of pangolins give a relative indication of the extent of poaching. Still, it is not known how many occur in Namibia nor how many are successfully trafficked out of the country.

Intelligence operations in South Africa over the past five years have retrieved 160 live pangolins from the illegal trade, according to data from the African Pangolin Working Group. The group is mandated by the Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment to oversee matters relating to illegal pangolin trade. Its role includes assisting in law enforcement operations, contributing expert evidence in court cases, rehabilitating pangolins retrieved from the illegal trade and releasing them in appropriate wild areas.

Liberian Moazu Kromah - known as "Kampala Man" - led one of the most active wildlife-trafficking syndicates on the African continent before his arrest in the Ugandan capital in February 2017. Just more than five years later, in March 2022, more than 11,000km away from the city in which he based his operation and from which his alias derives, Kromah quietly entered into a plea bargain with the Southern District of New York (SDNY), which is known for tackling high-profile organised crime and corruption cases.

The Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) and Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) recently announced a long-term landmark partnership focused on better comprehending the current state of knowledge about the illegal wildlife trade (IWT), and the economics of IWT in southern Africa.

Four suspects were arrested in Mwenezi District in southern Zimbabwe last month, for possession of a live pangolin, four lion teeth and a python skin, with intentions to sell them for more than US $ 5,000. The trial began on Thursday May 19, CITE has established.

Data on pangolin seizures and court cases in Southern Africa provide insights into the smuggling of pangolins destined for Asia, mostly China, via air, sea, land and mail. Analysis of published data on the illegal pangolin trade indicates Namibia has the highest number of pangolin seizures in 42 jurisdictions across Africa, while the highest number of related court cases in Southern Africa has been recorded in Malawi, and Zambia is among the top five countries on the continent to record seizures at airports.