Among the traders are a water and forestry engineer, a high school teacher and an electromechanical engineer. They were arrested in Ebolowa, a few kilometers from Carrefour Samba, while they were trying to sell elephant tusks. The water and forestry engineer works for a logging company, and the other two work in the public service.
A fourth trader, believed to be the mastermind of the illegal trade, tried to evade arrest, but was arrested soon after by forestry and wildlife officers . He was taken to the premises of the Regional Delegation of Forests and Wildlife for the rest of the procedure. They reportedly belong to an ivory trading network operating in the area. A wildlife law enforcement support group, known as LAGA, provided technical assistance during the operation.
The network consists of traffickers who have a special role in the illegal sale of elephant tusks. One of them collected and stored the tusks at his house, while the others played the roles of middleman and seller. One of the traders carried Ambam’s tusks to Ebolowa, hidden in a sack of rice. The four suspects were handed over to the prosecutor and accused of possessing illegal ivory.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there are approximately 6,830 elephants living in the country, making it one of the largest elephant populations in Africa. However, this population is rapidly declining due to poaching which fuels the illegal ivory trade, which is in high demand from Asia.
To protect elephants, the government, through the Wildlife Act of 1994, is strengthening its efforts to combat the illegal ivory trade, so that elephants are fully protected in the country. It should be noted that the President of the Republic has just published a new law that repeals the provisions that contradict the 1994 law.
The elephant, the world’s largest land animal, plays a vital role as the “gardener” of the forest, helping to maintain the forest and Savannah ecosystem for other species.
