Recidivist ivory traffickers arrested

by Luc Mathot
Recidivist ivory traffickers arrested

img-20150309-00938Yvon Thierry NANG and Casimir ONUOHA were arrestedearly in the week as they weere trying to sell an important quantity of ivory.

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Yvon Thierry NANG is a known trafficker, since he was arrested in 2011. However, he was then not considered because the prosecution had focused on the major traffickers. This indicates that the current penalty level in terms of fully protected species is not efficient as traffickers do not hesitate to dive back into their illegal activities once their sentences served.

This undermines the determination of the security forces, including those of the judicial police, whose commitment is exemplary, many traffickers are, in fact, arrested in the capital in possession of what is now called the jargon “banana”, that is to say ivory. Strategies and many awareness campaigns are insufficient; an upward revision of sentences and fines is necessary if we want to save the elephant, and more generally,Gabon wildlife.

This latest arrest realized by the JP in Libreville shows that the capital is more than ever the hub of the ivory trade in Gabon. Unless the political-legal powers decide to castigate and punish adequately those crimes, the fight against wildlife crime will never take place.

http://en.gabonews.com/en/news/environment/article/recidivist-ivory-traffickers-arrested