Côte D'ivoire - Fighting wildlife crime, a Vietnamese kingpin arrested in Ivory Coast

On January 18, 2018, a Vietnamese man was arrested in Abidjan along with five other members of a criminal network that had been operating for several years in at least seven different countries. The EAGLE network and the Ivorian government began coordinating the operation "Ivory Stops in Ivory Coast", that targets this international network of ivory trafficking. The leader of the gang, a Vietnamese, was arrested along with five other members of his network and arrests led to the confiscation of 578 kg of ivory, more than half a ton of pangolin scales, some of which had already been packaged and ready for export, four illegal handguns, leopard skins and other contraband. The head of the criminal organization in Côte d'Ivoire is directly linked to two other operations that took place in Vietnam and Cambodia, in which 619 kg and 941 kg of ivory were seized by the authorities in the respective countries. The network is believed to be behind the killing of tens of thousands of elephants; killed for their ivory

These arrests were carried out by the Ivorian law enforcement unit in charge of cross border crime known by its French acronym UCT and the Ivorian Ministry of Water and Forests, with the assistance of EAGLE Network, an international wildlife law enforcement NGO. The American government carried out a thorough investigation of the international traffic network and these arrests were the result of close collaboration between the American and Ivorian law enforcement agencies.

The gang's modus consisted of carving hollow spaces out of timber logs, hiding ivory inside them, and filling the remaining space with wax. The logs were then reclosed with glue, mixed with normal wood, and exported in containers to Asia. The same method has been observed in additional seizures, in Kenya and Mozambique where more than two tons of ivory have been seized. At least four African countries (Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire ) and two Asian ones (Cambodia, Vietnam) are implicated, making this criminal syndicate an extremely important one in wildlife trafficking.

Phone analysis showed calls from those arrested to three known tax haven countries: Switzerland, Turks and Caicos, and Saint Kits & Nevis. The extent of the money laundering hints at the level of organization in the syndicate's operations.

One of those arrested during the operation, a Chinese national, was found in possession of pages listing the identities of young Ivorian women, their pictures, height and weight, and whether they had a female genital mutilation. This has initiated an investigation on traffic in persons for prostitution in China using fake passports.

According the the EAGLE Network Founding Director, Ofir Drori: “Ivory trafficking rings operate internationally and the effective response to it is international cooperation”. The head of the network that is specialized in wildlife law enforcement said: “the Government of Ivory Coast and the USA Government showcase that international cooperation can get kingpins behind bars”. He added that “Unfortunately, most large ivory seizures are not followed by any arrests. But with a hands-on approach and international cooperation, as we had here between Ivory Coast and the United States, we can get the kingpins behind bars where they belong.”

It should be noted that EAGLE Côte d'Ivoire is one of nine projects grouped under the EAGLE network. These projects use the law enforcement model developed in Cameroon as part of the LAGA - MINFOF collaboration

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