Million Dollars Worth of Illegal Ivory Seized, 41 Arrested

http://www.ens-newswire.com/en...0/2010-05-20-02.html

LYONS, France, May 20, 2010 (ENS) - A six-nation wildlife crime crackdown
across southern Africa has resulted in the seizure of nearly 400 kilos (882
pounds) of elephant ivory and rhino horn with a market value of more than
US$1 million, the location and closure of an illegal ivory factory, and the
arrests of 41 people.

Co-ordinated by INTERPOL and codenamed Mogatle, the two-day operation on May
13 and 14 involved agencies across six countries � Botswana, Namibia, South
Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Nearly 200 officers from police, national wildlife, customs and national
intelligence agencies carried out inspections and raids on markets and
shops.

Checks were made on suspect vehicles at border crossing points. For the
first time in a wildlife crime operation, sniffer dogs provided by South
African and Swaziland police were used at check points at the
Mozambique-Swaziland border.

"The success of Operation Mogatle is not only in relation to the seizures
and arrests which have been made, but is a demonstration of the commitment
of national and international law enforcement and other involved agencies to
working together to combat wildlife crime," said Peter Younger, manager of
INTERPOL's Africa wildlife crime program known as OASIS, for Operational
Assistance, Services and Infrastructure Support.

"Taking these illegal items off the market is just the first step," said
Younger. "Information gathered as part of this operation will also enable
law enforcement, both in Africa and abroad, to identify smuggling routes and
eventually to further arrests of other individuals involved in these
crimes."

"The impact of wildlife crime is wide ranging. People are threatened with
violence, law enforcement officers have been killed while carrying out their
duties, and there is the wider economic impact on a country and therefore
the livelihoods of ordinary people," Younger said.

Supported by INTERPOL's national central bureaus and the regional bureau in
Harare, Zimbabwe, Operation Mogatle was co-ordinated by INTERPOL's OASIS
Africa initiative, which is funded by the German federal government.

Additional support and funding was provided for the operation by the Humane
Society of Canada and the Born Free Foundation.

INTERPOL is the world's largest international police organization, with 187
member nations. Created in 1923, and headquartered in Lyons, France, the
agency facilitates cross-border police cooperation, and supports and assists
all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or
combat international crime.

INTERPOL's OASIS program helps countries in Africa develop a global and
integrated approach to fighting wildlife crime by building operational
capacities for policing in the region and enhancing the ability of INTERPOL
member countries to tackle crime threats nationally, regionally and
globally.

Operation Mogatle is named in honor of the late Professor Keitirangi
Mogatle, assistant director of the Botswana Department of Wildlife and
National Parks and principal motivator behind effective wildlife law
enforcement in Botswana. It was the third multi-agency wildlife operation
coordinated by INTERPOL.

The first, Operation Baba in November 2008, was named to honor the memory of
Gilbert Baba, a Ghana Wildlife Department ranger who was murdered by illegal
wildlife dealers a decade ago. It resulted in the arrests of nearly 60
people and the seizure of one ton of illegal elephant ivory following
coordinated actions in Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia.

The second, Operation Costa in November 2009, was named in honor of
Constantius 'Costa' Aloysius Mlay, the former director of the Wildlife
Division of the Tanzania Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. The
operation took place across Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and
Uganda, and led to the arrest of more than 100 people and the recovery of
1.5 tons of ivory and hundreds of other illegal wildlife items.