LUSAKA AGREEMENT ON CO-OPERATIVE ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS DIRECTED AT ILLEGAL TRADE IN WILD FAUNA AND FLORA

PRESS STATEMENT ON THE EXAMINATION AND INVESTIGATION OF 6.5 TONNES OF AFRICAN CONTRABAND IVORY SEIZED IN SINGAPORE.

In late June 2002, an investigation team consisting of Officers from Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF), and the Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) of Malawi uncovered vital information on shipment of a 20-foot container packed with illegal elephant ivory in Malawi and destined for the Far East. The container had been shipped to South Africa enroute to Singapore.

The details of this shipment were forwarded to Singapore authorities that acted swiftly on this information and the consignment was seized on 28 June 2002. Upon opening of the container, its contents revealed an assortment of contraband African elephant ivory weighing about 6.5 tonnes, consisting of 532 whole tusks and about 41,000 rough-carved cylinders similar to those used for hanko signatures in the Far East. This is the largest seizure of contraband ivory since the elephants were listed as endangered species in Appendix I at the CITES conference of Parties (COP 7) in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The enormous size of this consignment provides evidence that there is an elaborate network in the Far East capable, at a single delivery, to receive and launder the 41,000-hanko seals together with hundreds of tusks into the existing legal markets. Illegal ivory markets in the Far East are providing a major incentive for poaching of elephants. Unless these markets are brought under control, the African elephant will inevitably head towards decimation. This therefore, calls for ivory consumer countries, in particular the Far East, to effectively monitor their internal ivory markets, probe violations associated with serious wildlife crime and offer unequivocal co-operation to partner law enforcement agencies worldwide.

In late August 2003, the Wildlife Regulatory Branch of Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) agreed to handover the confiscated ivory to Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) to facilitate further investigations.

The Lusaka Agreement Task Force is an African intergovernmental law enforcement organization with its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, whose main objective is to facilitate co-operative enforcement operations directed at eliminating illegal trade in wild fauna and flora. The Agreement was adopted on 8 December 1994 by six African nations at a Ministerial meeting held in Lusaka Zambia. Its present membership comprises the Republics of Congo (Brazzaville), Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and the Kingdom of Lesotho while Ethiopia, Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Swaziland are signatories.

Between September and October 2003, negotiations were held with interested parties, which resulted in a general agreement that the ivory be transferred to the Seat of LATF for further investigations. LATF together with other stakeholders would then conduct a thorough examination and investigation of the contraband.

In March 2004,the Government of Singapore handed over the consignment of 6.5 tonnes of the confiscated ivory to LATF. The consignment was subsequently shipped to Kenya, the Seat of the Task Force.

To ensure a successful and exhaustive investigation of this case, a Consultative Meeting of Experts from various agencies and institutions was hosted by LATF in Nairobi, from 20^th to 22^nd April 2004. The objective of the meeting was to develop strategies for a thorough investigation of the case. The participants of this meeting included key stakeholders from Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Interpol-ICPO, World Customs Organization (WCO), and Centre for Conservation Biology, University of Washington/Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania and LATF. The CITES Secretariat and three Asian ivory importing countries had been invited but for various reasons, they were unable to attend. The Task Force strongly believes in cooperative law enforcement operations to reduce illegal trade in wild fauna and flora. Therefore, the absence of the key ivory consumers from the Far East and regrettably the CITES Secretariat, was a major setback.

This investigation, which has commenced, will use modern approaches such as DNA analysis and forensics technology in accordance with the strategies adopted by the consultative meeting. The investigation is a big challenge, as it will require unearthing and exposing all the players in the syndicate. The outcome of the investigation is intended to facilitate the prosecution of the perpetrators of this crime, whoever they may be, and formulate strategies to pre-empt recurrence of similar crimes.

The Lusaka Agreement Task Force commends the law enforcement agencies from Kenya, Malawi, Singapore, Zambia and other partners for their invaluable contribution towards the ongoing investigation. We further appreciate the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) for their financial support in the investigations. Consequently, the Task Force calls upon the law enforcement fraternity and members of the public for more support in this and similar investigations in the future.