A suspected wildlife trafficker was arrested following a crackdown operation carried out in Belabo on November 27, 2015.by wildlife officials from the East Regional Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife. The officials say the 31-year old man who tried to sell an estimated 14 kg of giant pangolin scales was arrested following an investigative mission that had provided information on pangolin scale trafficking in Belabo.

Azemte Mbemo Alain Patrice, the Regional Chief of Wildlife for the East Region who headed the team that arrested the suspect said “we received information concerning wildlife trafficking in Belabo and we requested support from the Forces of Law and Order. We then went to the field with our team that succeeded in arresting the trafficker”. The team from the East Regional Delegation of Forestry and wildlife travelled on the morning of the arrest from Bertoua to Belabo to avoid alerting the suspect who proved to very versed with illegal trafficking. The man is suspected to be a crucial link between poachers who illegally hunt giant pangolins and Chinese traffickers who buy the scales. The operation was carried out with the technical assistance of The Last Great Organisation (LAGA)

Shortly after the operation, a member of the arresting team who requested anonymity disclosed that the trafficker arrived on a motorbike, and stopped near a bar where it seems their transaction was about to take place. He alighted and untied the bag that was strapped to the bike and disappeared into the bar. Investigations the day before had witnessed the activity of three people including the arrested trafficker, who seemingly were discussing some business transactions in the night with the suspicious looking bag the centre of their interest. The same source said that prior investigations show the three have connections with a team of poachers from the Deng Deng National Park where the pangolins are believed to be killed.

Giant pangolins as well as other pangolins are nocturnal and vulnerable wildlife species which can be easily captured. They are slow and do not have sophisticated and dangerous defensive weaponry as some species do. This makes them easy prey for unscrupulous poachers. To protect them from such threats, they are listed in Class A, reserved for totally protected wildlife species but the incessant search for their much sought after scales has been fuelling the hunt for pangolins. This has become a problem and they are now greatly in danger of extinction. Azemte Mbemo says “these are rare wildlife species which are facing extinction and the illegal trade in its scales menaces the species that participates in keeping biodiversity at equilibrium”. Like many other species which are threatened with extinction, the role they play in our ecosystem shall be greatly missed if they become extinct.