Namibia, through an operation dubbed Saving Wildlife through Multilateral Cooperation in Africa (SAMA), has seen 17 cases leading to the interception of 34 illegal shipments of wildlife within Southern Africa. According to the Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices Head for East and Southern Africa (ESA), Sitheni Ncube, operation SAMA took place between 1 January 2024 and 29 February 2024.
The results highlighted the ongoing challenges and indicated the potential for success in dismantling the current illicit wildlife trade.
“The number of cases and commodities that were recorded during the two-month long operation and uploaded into the CENcomm platform by the 20 Members States, if extrapolated by 12 months and then also factor in the rest of continent’s countries that did not participate in the operation, the resultant figure would clearly validate the long-standing assertion that Africa is indeed under siege from these unscrupulous illicit wildlife traders,” he said.
Namibia was also the first country among the member states to establish a Port Control Unit at Walvis Bay.
EU Ambassador to Namibia, Ana Beatriz Martins said this specialised unit specifically targets illicit trafficking within maritime containers passing through the Port.
“The Walvis Bay Port Control Unit was the first to become operational in Southern Africa, supported by the EU and other partners, as part of the UNODC Container Control Programme,” she said.
Martins further explained that the operation led to 100 confiscations of endangered African species across 19 countries with several arrests and prosecutions of those involved in the illegal activity.
“The operation was supported by the EU as well as by our EU Member States France and Germany,” she said.
The Namibian Revenue Agency (NamRA), and the Namibian Police Force (NAMPOL) spearheaded the country’s operations and collaborated with customs and law enforcement agencies from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Nigeria, Gabon, as well as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
