A man was arrested in Njombe, in the Littoral Region, illegal possession of sea turtle shells - sea turtles are protected wildlife species.The 39-year old man was arrested on July 7, 2016 during a crackdown operation by wildlife officials from the Njombe -Penja Forestry and Wildlife Control Post who were accompanied by the gendarmerie. The suspect who was under investigation for several months was arrested as he sat on a motorcycle in front of the Eglise Evangeligue in Njombe.

He rode the motorcycle with the bag of shells strapped to the backseat of his bike and stopped just a few metres to the church building, then make rapid glances of the surroundings before making a phone call. As he called, wildlife officials who had been tracking his movements quickly made it fast to the bike where he was briefly questioned before being arrested. He was taken to Penja where the forestry and wildlife control post it located. The Last Great Ape Organisation – LAGA provided technical assistance during the operation.

Sources close to the case say he has been in the business for a couple of years and sells a variety of wildlife products. He admitted to wildlife officials to also selling crocodiles and several primate species and his client base was equally wide and varied.

A photo of a Nile monitor tied to his bike was found inside his phone. Njock Filibert Ewozouk an assistant forestry technician who was part of the team declared after the operation that “This was a case study of law enforcement as it raised the curiosity of some who may now understand that commercialization wildlife species is an illegal and destructive activity”. According to the him, the operation is of vital importance to senstise people around the Njombe – Penja areas of the illegality of commercializing wildlife which is regular activity to some in these parts.

A case filed is being established against the trafficker who was held in custody at the gendarmerie bridage in Penja awaiting the completion of the process and according to Njock “we are going to complete the dossier and move to the next step which is forwarding the matter to the state counsed, our Ministry is very strict on this and those who think they are going to destroy our forests are being misled”.

The arrest of the dealer in Njombe is one of several cases of arrests carried out in the country in the recent past and in many other African countries applying the same law enforcement model as Cameroon. These arrests have a clear message – that the illegal trade in protected wildlife species is the main cause for the massacre of Africa’s wildlife to extinction and for this reason, government is sending out a signal that it shall not stand by and look on as species are killed to extinction. It is also informing potential traffickers or those interested in the illegal activity that the trade is prohibited and the law is actively applied against offenders.

Sea turtles are listed in Class A which is reserved for animals that are totally protected and may in no condition be subjected to trade. Many other species including chimpanzees, gorillas, several monkey species etc are all found in this same class and according to Njock Fillibert Ewozouck the objective of this classification “is to protect the animas in such a way that they can reproduce and replenish their numbers”. Trafficking in wildlife species is undermining this effort.