In haven van Limbe (Kameroen) zijn 98 slagtanden olifanten onderschept aan bord schip dat wilde vertrekken naar Nigeria

Cameroon: 98 ivory tusks seized in Douala

27-10-2009 Afrique en ligne, France


A total of 98 ivory tusks were seized between Sunday and Monday at the Autonomous Port of Limbe (PAL), 80 kilometres south-west of Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, sources told PANA here.

According to the Regional Delegate of Forestry and Wildlife for the Littoral, François Issola Dipanda, the large shipment of elephant tusks were seized by Cameroonian customs officials in Limbe, aboard the "Monica Express", a ship flying a Nigerian flag, as the vessel was about to set sail for Calabar, in Nigeria.

Sources said that owners of the shipment had not been identified because "the goods" were not on the manifest.

The 98 tusks weigh about 500 kilogrammes and may have been obtained from 49 elephants killed illegally by poachers.

Cameroon, with its vast surface areas of forest and Savannah, is a hub for trafficking on ivory tusk in Africa.

In the night of 21-22 September, two elephant tusks traffickers aboard a truck were arrested by the police in Douala with 283 ivory tusks (weighing about 996.55 kg) hidden in several bags.

In Cameroon, hunting, killing and trading on elephant tusks are banned, as the animal is classified among the protected species.

(Bron: http://www.afriquejet.com/)