During their arrest on June 7, they had in possession, nearly 500 kg of pangolin scales. This animal is classified in category A (protected species).
A second-class sergeant and a navy sailor were apprehended in Yaoundé by elements of the National Gendarmerie Brigade of the Odza district and the Company of the Mimboman district, in collaboration with the agents of the regional delegation. of the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife of the Center region. The outlaws were on the field of action.
A vast network of traffickers of pangolin scales
At the Mimboman national gendarmerie company, one of the soldiers arrested suggested that he was working in collusion with a lady who lives in the Ékounou district. It was she who commissioned her son, the second class sailor responsible for delivering the product to the sergeant, who in turn was supposed to sell it on the black market. Descended to the scene, the elements of the gendarmerie were able to get their hands on this lady well known in the bushmeat trade at the Nkolndongo market in Yaoundé. According to our sources, the pangolin is a mammal which is highly traffic in the world given the high demand in the market, especially in China. WildAid, a group of curators, says that an average of 200,000 pangolins are consumed in China each year.
The dirty business of men in uniform in Cameroon
According to informed observers, the involvement of elements of the defense and security forces is very extensive in this illicit trade. In 2017, for example, nearly 300 ivory tucks and nearly 100 elephant tails were seized from the vehicle of a high-ranking army officer in the locality of Djoum, department of Dja and Lobo, in the Region from South. We also remember that last year, a police officer based in Garoua was caught in the mesh of the gendarmerie. Once unmasked, our sources point out that the latter had in his possession, 5 lion skulls, a panther skin and elephant tusks, coming from Bouba Ndjida National Park.
by Gustave Epok
Source: https://actucameroun.com/2020/06/13/cameroun-deux-elements-des-forces-de-defense-et-securite-interpelles-pour-des-faits-presumes-de-trafic-decailles-de-pangolin/