Customs nabs wildlife traffickers for ivory seized in Vietnam

In a landmark joint operation, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), supported by the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), has arrested two major wildlife traffickers in Nigeria.

These arrests are linked to the seizure of 1.58 tonnes of ivory at Lach Huyen International Port, Hai Phong, Vietnam on 27 March 2024.

The NCS said its Special Wildlife Office and officers of Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone C in a joint enforcement operation with the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) apprehended the suspect on May 16, 2024, “in the Eastern part of Nigeria.” 

It made the disclosure in a statement titled “Nigeria Customs Service and Wildlife Justice Commission set gold standard in illegal wildlife seizure response.

But Nigerian Current gathered that the first suspect was apprehended by the NCS on 16 May 2024 in Abia State.

He is believed to be the consignor of the ivory shipment exported from Onne Port, Port Harcourt, Nigeria on 2 November 2023, which was seized in Vietnam.

The ivory, painted black and concealed under a cover load of cow horns, was part of an elaborate smuggling operation.

The second suspect was arrested in Onitsha, Nigeria by the NCS on 17 May 2024.

He is suspected of supplying part or all of the 1.58 tonnes of ivory shipped by the first suspect to Hai Phong, Vietnam.

According to the statement, the arrests occurred barely six weeks after the news was reported in Vietnam.

It quoted the Comptroller in charge of FOU Zone C, Comptroller Mike Ugbagu as saying that: “Apprehending these persons is to send a clear signal to other perpetrators of these illegal acts which are in contravention of the Customs export guidelines/ Nigeria Customs Service Act, and the Endangered Species Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that, wildlife trafficking, illegal wildlife trade and any form of Wildlife crime will not be condoned. 

“This is also to reaffirm the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)’s commitment to support all global initiatives to fight wildlife crime in all its forms.

“Furthermore, the NCS and WJC partnership is strengthened and more determined than ever to dismantle the entire supply chain of illegal Wildlife criminal networks operating from Africa to Asia.”

According to the officer in charge of the NCS Special Wildlife office, Asst Comptroller Abimbola Isafiade, “The efficient and multi-focused response by NCS to the seizure in Vietnam demonstrates that it is not business as usual concerning the Nigeria-Vietnam trafficking corridor.

“Also, the NCS’s success in apprehending both the shipper and supplier builds on the three years of successful arrests and prosecutions of key members of local and international IVORY trafficking networks”.

“In addition, NCS will continue to follow the money to find all those who benefit from this crime.

“The culprits will soon be charge to court as soon as investigation is concluded.”

On April 2, 2024, Vietnamese authorities announced that they had confiscated nearly 1.6 metric tons of smuggled ivory camouflaged with black paint at a port in Hai Phong City, northern Vietnam.

An official from the Customs Department of Hai Phong revealed that the haul, comprising 547 ivory pieces weighing a total of 1,580kg, was stowed in multiple sacks.

They were found within an imported container at Hai Phong’s Lach Huyen international port.

The shipment’s country of origin was said to be Nigeria.

Trading in ivory, which comes from elephants, is illegal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) – meaning that no commercial import or export of ivory is permitted. Nevertheless, ivory remains highly valued in many Asian countries for use in luxury products like piano keys, jewellery, furniture, or carvings.