On the Trail - Robin des Bois

Arrest of a poacher
Isiolo, Isiolo County, Kenya
17 th September 2013
After returning from their work, the poachers
fought amongst themselves in their van. A story
about sharing or trust?
At the instigation of their leader, an Indian poacher
who had moved to Africa, 2 of the accomplices set
upon a 4 th man, a former KWS officer apparently
converted to stealing wild animals and tried to
shoot him after tying him up. In the brawl, the driver
lost control of the vehicle which toppled into
the roadside. The police launched a manhunt and
managed to catch the wounded former KWS officer
and the Indian citizen. He was in possession of
400 cartridges. He was described by the Samburu
Chief Superintendent of Police as “suspect n°1 in
the poaching of elephants and rhinoceroses in East
Africa”.
Seizure of 33 pieces of ivory and ivory tusks
Avignon, Region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur,
France
18 th September 2013
Flea markets and car boot sales can be an opportunity
for the curious to find objects whose origin
is suspicious. Avignon International is seen as a
«must» in the South of France for professional antique
dealers and antique lovers. «Dozens of international
freight forwarders deal with the removal of
the antiques, packaging and customs formalities».
The customs officers in the department of Vaucluse
went straight to the source. The sellers of non-certified
and seized ivory are liable to heavy fines.
© Customs Authority of Vaucluse
Arrest of 2 soldiers from the Republic of South Sudan
army for trafficking in ivory
Kapoeta East County, State of Eastern Equatoria,
Republic of South Sudan
18 th September 2013
Elephants are dying in North Sudan and South
Sudan. There were still 70 to 80,000 in the decade
between1960-70. Today there are perhaps 4,000, less
the 5 which were killed this summer. 2 wildlife protection
officers were caught red handed in the east of the
country. The 2 suspects are members of the military
staff of the SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army). In
the bag were 2 “enormous” elephant’s tusks.
Seizure of 4 kg of ivory
Wilaya (administrative division) of M’Sila,
Algeria
19 th September 2013
Has the Annaba, Guelma, El-Tarf triangle become
a central component in the web of international
trafficking in ivory and rhinoceros
horns? That’s the opinion of the Algerian press.
The first signs go back to 2006 with 2 major seizures
in Ghardaïa and Annaba. The latest signs
are very recent. Filtering by the national gendarmerie
on the route nationale 40 led to the
questioning of 7 individuals in 2 different cars
carrying almost 4 kg of ivory. In the space of 3
months, another 15 kilograms of raw ivory were
seized in the North East of Algeria, where a kilo
of ivory is said to be traded for around 10 billion
dinar.
The Algerian press states that in recent years
and since the outbreak of internal feuds in northern
Mali ivory smuggling has developed in Algeria.
In the 1st On the Trail bulletin, Robin des
Bois expressed concern about the impacts of
the war in Mali on the population of desert elephants.
In response to Robin des Bois’s letters
the MINUSMA (United Nations Multidimensional
Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali) replied:
“the MINUSMA has sent out instructions to
all personnel (military, police and civil) to “protect
all wild animals and plants within the MINUSMA
zone”. These instructions include, among others,
the protection of wild flora and fauna which are
endangered (notably species protected by the
CITES Convention)”. Additional correspondence
was carried out between Robin des Bois and the
Environmental Officer from the United Nations
Department of Field Support on the ranging
ground of the elephants.
Seizure of 59 elephant tusks
Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Ratchasima Province,
Thailand
19 th September 2013
The total value of the haul is estimated at more
than US$ 600,000. In their van they had 59 large
tusks, evidently from old stock or from Tembe Park
in South Africa. Caught in the net of a police patrol,
the 2 ivory smugglers offered the police 1 million
Baht (US$ 32,000). Some of the tusks measured
more than 2 m in length. Their role was to transport
the cargo from the centre of Thailand to the border
with Laos. They had been paid a little less than
US$ 1,000 for this task. The final destination for the
white gold was China.
© Prasit Tangprasert
On The Trail # 2. Robin des Bois
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