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Cameroon: South West - Internet Wildlife Traficter Arrested
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Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé)
22 April 2008
Posted to the web 22 April 2008
Vincent Gudmia Mfonfu
Buea (Fako) Illegal commercial transactions in all types of products including protected wildlife species are being carried out nowadays over the Internet.
The Cameroon government's stand against illegal trade in protected wildlife species is quite strong and firm. "Cameroon will in no way encourage direct or distant illegal trade in its wildlife heritage", warns Professor Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, Minister of Forestry and Wildlife.
It is against this firm declaration of the government that the South West Provincial Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife led by its Delegate, Mbah Grace arrested a man trying to sell wildlife, species over the Internet. He is suspected of carrying out international fraud schemes involving falsification of government documents. The trafficker was using a falsified CITES permit for export of a Chimpanzee to Belgium.
The arrest of the internet wildlife trafficker comes on the heels of an appeal made during the last Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to governments to increase efforts in combating illegal internet wildlife trade and fraud.
As a matter of fact, trafficking in wildlife trade has taken a new dimension through internet, a method the South West Delegate of Forestry and Wildlife describes as being remote "This method is remote because it is not something which is tangible, you can't see it, so the dealers do it on internet and you use high technique to be able to track this type of dangerous traffickers and thanks to the National Security in this Province we were able to track these dangerous elements". Describing the extent to which wildlife crime through internet has gone, the Director of The Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA), Ofir Drori states, "We now realize that internet wildlife fraud scheme is far organized than we had thought. Internet fraud is a fast growing criminal activity in Cameroon".
The Buea arrest is one of the first cyber crimes to be prosecuted in Cameroon. "The Judiciary in Cameroon is extremely pleased to receive these cases" says Ofir Drori, adding, "we will continue to collaborate on more investigations with authorities around the world with complaints of internet wildlife trade and fraud from Cameroon". Last year, LAGA officials briefed the Prime Minister, Head of Government on this phenomenon of rising internet fraud and potential harm on the international image of the country during an audience granted them.
The South West Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife was assisted in tracking the internet wildlife trafficker by the Judiciaryand Forces of Law and Order. "Thanks to the Police in the South West Province, the Judiciary and LAGA, we have been able to arrest the internet wildlife trafficker", states Mbah Grace.
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Cyber crimes are connected to illegal immigration and child adoption scams which are rising illegal activities over the internet. Cyber crimes are particularly difficult to track because of the wide nature of internet use.
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