A very successful week for the EAGLE network in Africa with the NGOs PALF and GALF facilitating many arrests of ivory traffickers in Congo and Guinea.

In Congo, the role of PALF, headed by Naftali, was crucial to arrest 8 ivory traffickers in 4 different operations in Brazzaville, during wich a plane was stopped just before take off and a Chinese trafficker arrested on board. PALF reported how the 32-year-old Chinese national attempted to board the Ethiopian Airlines flight with ivory jewelry after bribing 60.000 FCFA (about 125 USD) to get it through via a fixer.

PALF also explained that these operations, conducted all over Brazzaville, are not easy cases, with a lot of corruption attempts. Naftali also reported how one Gendarme asked him and the PALF Legal team to work extra hard to assure that these criminals are prosecuted and put into jail so that their hard work was not for nothing. PALF stressed how this week has been a phenomenal success for the Ministère de l’Économie Forestière et du Développement Durable (MEFDD) and especially for the Gendarmerie Nationale, whose tirelessness throughout the week made this all possible. Among other things also an enormous tusk was recovered (see picture below).

In Guinea, thanks to GALF, headed by Charlotte, Interpol was able to outsmart and arrest a big ivory trafficker, Mr Mamady Kaba. GALF explained that Mr Kaba imports his ivory from Benin and Central Africa and has many international connections. Very professional and suspicious, he had escaped the first attempt to arrest. GALF’s investigation on Mamady Kaba has allowed the organization to understand the new modus operandi used by ivory dealers in Guinea to avoid arrests and confiscations of ivory.