In Port-Gentil, the provincial capital of Ogooué-Maritime, a joint operation carried out by officers from the Anti-Poaching Directorate (DLCB) and the Judicial Police (PJ), with support from the NGO Conservation Justice, led to the arrest of three individuals on July 20, 2025, for allegedly trafficking in protected wildlife trophies — specifically, five elephant tusks.
All three suspects are Gabonese nationals. Two of them have been identified as a farmer and a fisherman, while the third posed alternately as a Loango National Park ranger and a forestry commander.
Investigations revealed that he had once enrolled in an eco-guard training program in Lopé many years ago, but never completed it. Nonetheless, he received a uniform that allowed him to impersonate a park official — a deception that could aggravate his charges, given his knowledge of conservation laws and regulations.
The trio were caught red-handed attempting to illegally sell five elephant tusks, despite elephants being a fully protected species under Gabonese law. The illegal transaction was set to take place in a location within Port-Gentil.
The suspects were taken into custody at the Judicial Police headquarters in Port-Gentil, where they remain under investigation, pending their transfer to the Special Prosecutor’s Office in Libreville.
They face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to five times the value of the seized ivory, in accordance with Articles 390 and 398 of the Gabonese Penal Code.
A particularly troubling revelation from the investigation was that at least one of the elephants whose ivory was confiscated had been trapped using specially designed snares.
As is often the case, the ivory had traveled long distances undetected before arriving in Port-Gentil for sale — highlighting once again the need for stricter law enforcement and investigative follow-up to dismantle well-organized trafficking networks.
Fanta Mabo
