Following a joint operation carried out on 23 January 2025, the Anti-Poaching Division of the Ministry of Water and Forests (DLCB), the Ogooué-Ivindo Provincial Water and Forests Division and the Makokou Criminal Investigation Department (PJ), supported by the NGO Conservation Justice (CJ), apprehended two men in possession of four whole ivory tusks that they were trying to sell.
The two alleged traffickers were caught in the act of illegally possessing four whole elephant tusks, a fully protected species in Gabon, and attempting to sell these animal trophies.
When questioned about the origin of the ivories, the main suspect stated that he had collected them in the forest before admitting that he had come to the transaction site to sell them in order to make money.
The driver of the vehicle used to get to the transaction site, his alleged accomplice, admitted that he had gone with his brother to conclude the sale of the ivories.
Arrested for possession, transport and attempted illegal sale of ivory without prior authorisation from the Water and Forests Administration, the two alleged traffickers in fully protected species were immediately taken to the Makokou Judicial Police (PJ), where they were held in custody before being referred to the Libreville Special Public Prosecutor’s Office. The prosecutor remanded them in custody.
The two alleged traffickers face a prison sentence of up to ten (10) years and a fine equivalent to five times the value of the product seized, in accordance with articles 390 and 398 of the Criminal Code.
This arrest comes less than two weeks after the arrest in Lambaréné of four people involved in the trafficking of trophies of fully protected species, in this case elephant ivory tusks.
More and more traffickers are claiming to have collected trophies of protected species such as ivory in the forest, in order to avoid legal liability in this type of trafficking.
It should be noted that collecting ivory in the forest without informing the Water and Forestry Administration is punishable under Gabonese law. Possession remains prohibited.
So, to avoid being wrongly accused of poaching or any legal grievance relating to this type of wildlife crime, it is important to contact the Water and Forests administration as soon as trophies of wholly protected animal species are discovered, which will tell you what to do.
Fanta Mabo
