On the Trail - Robin des Bois

REPEAT OFFENSE
Seizure of 347 elephant tusks
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
July 4 th , 2013
On the Trail # 1 mentioned the seizure on May 23rd
of a truck transporting bags of cement containing
781 tusks or pieces of tusks on National Route 1 in
Malawi. The truck was intercepted by FAST (Flexible
Anti-Smuggling Team). It was heading towards
Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. The cement came
from a Mbeya factory in Tanzania. The director of
criminal investigations in Tanzania thanked the
Malawian police for having finished this contraband
operation. July 12th, Selemani Isanzu Chasama,
a member of the national fisheries agency,
was arrested in Dar Es Salam, the port capital of
Tanzania, in illegal possession of 347 tusks, property
of the Tanzanian government. The individual
is strongly suspected of having also organized the
attempted exportation of 781 tusks seized in May in
Malawi. He may spend 15 years in prison.
Seizure of 6 tusks (3 pairs)
Chandapura Market, State of Karnataka, India
6 July 2013
7 poachers of ages 20 to 49 were questioned as they
had tried to sell tusks to police officers disguised as
clients. The scene took place at a commercial fair.
The authorities had equally found arms: 6 machetes
and a helmet fitted with a search light. The accused
admitted to having slaughtered 3 elephants 2
months ago in the forest of Anchetti in the state of
Tamil Nadu.
© New Indian Express
Seizure of May24, 2013. Malawi © Nyasa Times
Seizure of an ivory bracelet
Baltimore Washington International Thurgood
Marshall Airport (BWI), Maryland, USA
July 5, 2013
Customs and border police at Baltimore International
Airport seized a bracelet from the wrist of an US
passenger returning from Liberia. After the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) carried out an analysis
it was confirmed that the bracelet was made
from ivory. A collaboration between U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) and the USFWS aims
to apply the decisions taken by the International
Convention CITES on the American soil. In parallel
to missions to control illegal immigration, the traffic
of counterfeit goods, narcotics and stolen cars, the
CBP intends to work hand in hand with the Port of
Baltimore and airport authorities to strengthen the
fight against illicit smuggling of animal derivatives
and live animals.
Seizure of 3,287 kg of ivory
Port of Mombasa, Kenya
8 July 2013
The seized articles included 382 whole tusks and
62 pieces. Certain tusks weighed up to 60kg, indicating
that the elephants slaughtered were elderly
and had lived in the savannah in the parks protected
inside Kenya or neighboring countries. They
were hidden in a container and wrapped in synthetic
gunny bags, while the official cargo mentioned
240 bags of peanuts. The investigation revealed
that one Member of Parliament and the governor of
the Rift Valley were implicated in this international
traffic. One part of the intercepted ivory was stolen
from the official and listed reserves in the Mombasa
State House. The exporter indicated on the documents
is a Nairobi based business, the Fresh Produce
Company. The Malaysian importers company,
Chuan Enterprises, the shipper and the forwarding
agent are equally subjects of an investigation. On
July 2, the authorities had already intercepted an
ivory cargo of 1,488kg in the port of Mombasa.
© U.S. Customs and
Border Protection
© KWS
On The Trail # 2. Robin des Bois
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