Four ivory traffickers were sentenced on Friday, 5 June 2026, by the Specialised Chamber of the Libreville Court of First Instance to prison terms and fines for their involvement in the illegal possession of ivory and the attempted sale of wildlife trophies belonging to a fully protected species in Gabon.
The ruling follows the successful operation carried out on 25 April 2026 in Mitzic, in the Woleu-Ntem Province, by the Provincial Directorate of Water and Forests of Woleu-Ntem and the Woleu-Ntem Judicial Police Unit, with the support of the NGO Conservation Justice (CJ).
During the operation, the four suspects – three men and one woman, all Gabonese nationals – were caught in the act of illegally possessing and attempting to sell four elephant tusks. Elephants are a fully protected species under Gabonese law.
Following their arrest, the suspects were placed in police custody and later transferred to Libreville to stand trial. They learned their fate on Friday, 5 June 2026.
The court sentenced the three men to twelve (12) months’ imprisonment, including six (6) months suspended, and imposed a fine of CFA Francs 1.76 million on each of them.
The woman was found guilty of complicity in the attempted sale of the ivory tusks. She received a six (6)-month prison sentence, including four (4) months suspended, and was fined CFA Francs 1.5 million.
The four traffickers were also jointly ordered to pay CFA Francs 2 million in damages to the Water and Forests Administration.
These convictions were handed down on 5 June 2026, a date globally recognised as World Environment Day. Elephants play a strategic role in maintaining forest ecosystems through what scientists often describe as “forest gardening”, helping to disperse seeds and sustain biodiversity.
The sentences send yet another strong message from Gabonese judicial authorities to poachers, wildlife traffickers and their accomplices that wildlife crime will not go unpunished in Gabon.
Fanta MABO
