Men of the Nigeria Customs Service, manning the Mfum border in Ikom, Cross River State, have intercepted 52 units of elephant tusks with a market value of N300 million, meant for the illegal trade in ivory.
Ahmed Waziri, Area Comptroller of Cross River/CFTZ/Akwa Ibom Command of the NIS, who made this disclosure at a news conference in Calabar on Monday, added that the tusk, weighing 200kg, were being conveyed in Honda SUV truck with registration number FST 733 HH, driven by a Cameroonian, Mohammed Ibrahim, presently the prime suspect.
Waziri further disclosed that the suspect was on his way to Lagos for onward transportation of the items to another location when he was apprehended. Also found on the suspect was a pistol with live ammunition, discovered inside the truck as it was searched.
“The suspect has two number plates (Lagos): FST 733 HH and (CMR) LT 214 AY. A service pistol was discovered inside the vehicle with live ammunition. This arrest should be a warning that Nigeria will not be used as a transit route for illicit products. They should also know that Nigeria is a signatory to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), an international agreement between governments”, Waziri said
“The suspect carried those items from Cameroon using Nigeria as a transit route probably to his final destination. The suspect is with us, and the goods are at the government warehouse. I want to commend my eagle-eyed officers at Mfum for being able to intercept those items worth over N300 million and also apprehending the suspect. Our legal unit is already on the matter, and he will be charged to court immidiately we complete our investigations.”
Preliminary investigations have so far revealed that the suspect is a specialist in the exportation of elephant tusks across international borders.
Credit: NAN
