By Christian Balade, Gabon Actu
The search brigade of the commune of Makokou, capital of the province of Ogooué Ivindo, has recently arrested three alleged poachers in possession of two ivory tusks, a source close to the gendarmerie reports on Friday.
François Moukambi Moubey, Jean Marie Pilima and Mohamed Backo were caught in the act of possession of a pair of elephant tusks. According to the source, they were arrested in a hotel room previously reserved for the transaction.
Presented to the local prosecutor’s office, the mis-en-causes were put under arrest warrant while hearing their trial.
Because of poaching for its ivory tuskss, the elephant is threatened with extinction in many places.
According to a recent scientific study, the brutal killing of these species has currently reached nearly 100 elephants per day in Central Africa.
The forest elephant population in Central Africa has declined to more than 60% during the last decade. In Gabon, the elephant is one of the species fully protected by the law that punishes the import, export, possession and transit on the national territory of fully protected species.
