Actualités Criminelles of Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Source: Xinhua

Four wildlife traffickers arrested in Cameroon

File photo of arrested criminals File photo of arrested criminals

Four illegal wildlife traffickers were arrested on Sunday near the Yaounde-Nsimalen international airport in Cameroon, a wildlife agency official told Xinhua on Monday.

The traffickers were found in possession of primate skulls and pangolin scales that they were about to export to their trading partners, said the Director of the Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA) in Cameroon, Ofir Drori.

"One primate trafficker was arrested with 18 primate skulls including gorillas and chimpanzee, two giant pangolin scale traffickers arrested with 114 kg of pangolin scales, and another trafficker arrested with 100 kg of giant pangolin scales close to the entrance to the Yaounde-Nsimalen international airport," he said.

Deng Deng National Park and the nearby Mbam Djerem National Park form the largest conservation landscape in Cameroon.

The parks are home to lowland gorillas and other threatened species, including chimpanzees, elephants, hippos and giant pangolins.