Corruption feeds and sustains wildlife and forest crime

Joint Statement of the UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, and the Secretary-General of CITES, John Scanlon, on corruption as an enabler of wildlife and forest crime.

3 November 2015 - As the world turns to realising the new development agenda with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, we are concerned that spiralling wildlife and forest crime, fuelled by corrosive corruption, can impede vital progress.

Almost five years have passed since the International Forum for Tiger Conservation was held in St. Petersburg in Russia, which also launched the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC).

The event built momentum for the growing recognition that the Tiger faces a desperate struggle for survival in all its habitats.

But, the Forum went much further; the focus on the Tiger was rightly viewed as emblematic of the battle being fought for our planet's biodiversity everywhere.

Since St. Petersburg, other conferences have continued to move these issues forward, including the CITES' Conference of the Parties in Bangkok, the Elysée Summit, the London Conference, and the Kasane Conference.

It is appropriate, for these reasons, that the Sixth Session of the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption should be held in St. Petersburg marking the International Forum's 5th anniversary.

We say this because corruption feeds and sustains wildlife and forest crime, as well as many other crimes including terrorism and extremism.

For the criminals to succeed, customs officials must be bribed to look away; logging and hunting licenses forged; and poachers set free due to obstructed prosecutions.

Thanks to corruption's deadly touch, the natural wealth of countries is being stolen, efforts to eradicate poverty paralysed and development efforts greatly hindered.

We are united in the belief that, by addressing corruption and bribery, we can deal a significant blow to all those involved in this transnational organized crime.

Central to this work is the ratification and implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption. With 177 States parties we are close to universal ratification, but more needs to be done to encourage every country's complete implementation of the Convention, which has been recognized by the UN General Assembly and CITES Parties. Full implementation means fully using the Convention's tools to prevent corruption, the prosecution and punishment of offenders, and a global alliance founded on cooperation that embraces international organizations, including within the UN family, international organizations and civil society.

Wildlife and forest crimes are serious crimes and they must be treated as such by nations willing and committed to disrupting the international criminal networks that supply this disastrous illegal trade.

But, in doing so, we must make best use of the UN Convention against Corruption, and the agreed suite of tools it provides, in eliminating the corruption that helps make these highly destructive crimes possible.

By BRIAN WASUNA

Nairobi, Kenya. Police have broken a dollar counterfeiting ring in Westlands following the arrest of foreign nationals suspected to be behind the scam.
Officers from the Flying Squad apprehended the five following a raid on an apartment they were staying in, and found $1.5 million (Sh153 million) in counterfeit notes.
The notes were in denominations of $100.

The five appeared before Resident Magistrate Joyce Gandani on Friday, where they denied the charges.
Ms Gandani ordered that they be kept in custody until December 3 when their matter will be heard.
Police believe that Abdullaye and Abdullah Tamba, Suleiman Yahya Musa, Mahmat Tamba and Yahya Kangweri had planned to release the forged notes into the Kenyan market.
"It is alleged that on October 16, without lawful authority and in your knowledge, you had in your possession 15,000 counterfeit notes,” the charge sheet reads.
Ms Gandani also ordered that analysis be done on their passports, which show they are from the Central African Republic, to ascertain their true immigration status.
The sting operation followed a complaint by a Saudi Arabian businessman - Abdullah Hussain Hassan - who claimed one of the five owed him $4 million (Sh408 million) and that they had refused to pay the sum.
Ms Hassan's lawyer Cliff Oduk requested police assistance in recovering the sum from one Abdullah Tamba and upon searching his Saddlewood Apartments house, police recovered the counterfeit notes.
Analysis on the nabbed cash was done last Thursday at the Nairobi police headquarters, where they were found to be forged.

SOURCE: Business Daily

Posted: October 8, 2015

A specialised wildlife trafficking unit under Tanzania's National and Transnational Serious Crimes Investigation Unit (NTSCIU) arrested a number of high-level Chinese ivory traffickers led by a woman who is now thought to be the most notorious ivory trafficker brought to task so far in the war against elephant poaching. She is believed to be behind the trafficking of a huge quantity of ivory over the last several years.

The woman, now dubbed the 'Queen of Ivory', is a Chinese national named Yang Feng Glan, 66, and has been followed by the task force for over a year. She recently disappeared from Tanzania, moving to Uganda, but returned one week ago, when the task force swiftly moved and arrested her. After confessing to many of her crimes she has been taken to the high court of Dar es Salaam yesterday, facing a maximum sentence of 20-30 years imprisonment.
Mrs. Yang Feng Glan is originally from Beijing and is a wealthy woman, owning at least several houses, a farm, a restaurant, and three cars. According to the first information collected by the task force, she first came to Tanzania in the 1980s working as an interpreter and she has been trafficking ivory since at least 2006, working with the most high-ranking poachers in the country and in the region. She is connected to various companies abroad, all Chinese-owned, and circulates in the upper echelons of Chinese citizens living and working in Tanzania.
Tanzania has been the ground zero of elephant poaching in East Africa for the past several years, having lost 85,000 elephants between 2009 and 2014, according to a recent elephant census in the country. A slaughter of industrial proportion such as this cannot have happened without the involvement of high profile, corrupt individuals and government officials at the two ports of Dar-es-Salaam and Zanzibar, and elsewhere in civil society.
"It's the news that we all have been waiting for, for years”, commented Mr. Andrea Crosta, co-founder of the Elephant Action League and WildLeaks. "Finally, a high profile Chinese trafficker is in jail. Hopefully she can lead us to other major traffickers and corrupt government officials. We must put an end to the time of the untouchables if we want to save the elephant”.
"Everyone she has been dealing with will now become a target for law enforcement,” concludes Crosta.

- See more at: http://africageographic.com/blog/chinese-queen-of-ivory-arrested/#sthash.bVqW11f4.dpuf

NANCY SIAME, Lusaka. THE Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), through its anti-money laundering investigations unit, has arrested a Bank of Zambia (BoZ) employee for alleged money laundering involving US$43,000 and K20,000.
Mark Gooke Ndhlovu, 40, of flat number 8, Nasser Road in Lusaka, has been arrested for alleged theft by public servant and money laundering.
It is alleged that Ndhlovu, a section officer at BoZ, stole the money on dates unknown but between January 1 and September 20, this year.
This is according to a statement released by DEC public relations officer Theresa Katongo who said Ndhlovu is on police bond and will appear in court soon.
Ms Katongo also said DEC is concerned that some people masquerading as DEC officers and conducting illegal operations in some townships in Lusaka.
In a seperate incident the Government of Zambia says effective anti money laundering and combating financing of terrorism is critical to reducing crime levels in the country.
Secretary to Cabinet Roland Msiska says this is why government is committed to addressing money laundering and terrorist financing risk.
Dr. Msiska says addressing money laundering and terrorist financing risk will help increase government revenue and reduce leakages in the economy.
He was speaking at the launch of the Money Laundering and Terrorist financing national risk assessment in Lusaka.
And Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba says dealing with money laundering and terrorist financing requires a national response.
Mr. Yamba says a comprehensive national risk assessment is an important step to better appreciate Zambia's vulnerabilities so as to develop plans in dealing with such risks.

The Daily Mail : https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/?p=47797

By BRIAN WASUNA Kenya, Police have broken a dollar counterfeiting ring in Westlands following the arrest of foreign nationals suspected to be behind the scam.
Officers from the Flying Squad apprehended the five following a raid on an apartment they were staying in, and found $1.5 million (Sh153 million) in counterfeit notes.
The notes were in denominations of $100.
The five appeared before Resident Magistrate Joyce Gandani on Friday, where they denied the charges.
Ms Gandani ordered that they be kept in custody until December 3 when their matter will be heard.
Police believe that Abdullaye and Abdullah Tamba, Suleiman Yahya Musa, Mahmat Tamba and Yahya Kangweri had planned to release the forged notes into the Kenyan market.
"It is alleged that on October 16, without lawful authority and in your knowledge, you had in your possession 15,000 counterfeit notes,” the charge sheet reads.
Ms Gandani also ordered that analysis be done on their passports, which show they are from the Central African Republic, to ascertain their true immigration status.
The sting operation followed a complaint by a Saudi Arabian businessman - Abdullah Hussain Hassan - who claimed one of the five owed him $4 million (Sh408 million) and that they had refused to pay the sum.
Ms Hassan's lawyer Cliff Oduk requested police assistance in recovering the sum from one Abdullah Tamba and upon searching his Saddlewood Apartments house, police recovered the counterfeit notes.
Analysis on the nabbed cash was done last Thursday at the Nairobi police headquarters, where they were found to be forged.
SOURCE: Business Daily http://nairobinews.nation.co.ke/police-seize-sh153m-fake-dollars-in-westlands-printing-ring/

October 19 2015 at 02:44pm  By LEE RONDGANGER
REUTERSFile photo: Tote Inc
Durban - South African customs officials have seized contraband worth R49 million including drugs, wildlife and counterfeit clothing smuggled through Durban Harbour in the past six months.
The secret weapon in customs' arsenal is the new, hi-tech cargo container scanner which, through its X-ray capabilities, is able to see what is in containers without the need to open them.
The scanner, which has been used in the Durban Harbour for a year, has revolutionised the way they investigate suspicious containers - because customs officials no longer have to physically open them to see if it contains contraband.
Since April, the SA Revenue Service (Sars) customs officials have made 106 seizures and have confiscated contraband that included alcohol, vehicles and cigarettes.
The biggest seizures were for counterfeit goods that amounted to R44.1 million followed by narcotics, R378 000 and alcohol, R374 000.
Since April last year 24.3kg of narcotics valued at R30.2m were seized.
Sars spokesman, Luther Lebelo, said the new scanners - one was deployed in Cape Town Harbour in July - could show the difference between 40 different types of materials such aluminium, steel, plastic and organic.
The scanners are also able to detect if radioactive material is being smuggled and can see through up to 380mm of solid steel, making it very hard for smugglers to hide contraband.
"From a business perspective, if customs were to unpack suspicious containers, we could do three a day. We are now aiming to do 100 inspections a day on a highly targeted and non-intrusive basis. From start to finish, we can scan in under 12 minutes,” Lebelo said.
"This new system also helps increase audit-ability because it is now highly integrated and centrally available over the Sars network, customs has the ability to investigate cases, re-investigate cases, check for quality control, interrogate findings, and we can also tell who did what, which cannot be done at the moment. These are the big benefits,” he said.
Lebelo said that for every single scan that customs did, they opened a case, did the scan, verified the result, generated a marked-up image, and then managed the findings - in the case of a hit.
"The new, integrated scanning process also eliminates fraud, theft and bribery, because all actions are recorded as cases,” he said.
Durban is one of the busiest ports in Africa, handling more than 80 million tons of cargo a year.
A police source, who cannot be named, but has intimate knowledge of the port operation, said the position of the port and its network and trains and trucks made it a favourite for smugglers.
The source said that, unlike other ports of entry such as airports and border crossings, investigators had to rely on instinct and luck much of the time.
"Even with the new scanners they can only do a limited number of scans a day.
"Thousands of containers leave the port every week and you will not be able to check every one of them.
"That is the challenge we have. The scanners make it easier, but sometimes we are able to make busts just on pure instinct and experience from other busts,” the source said.
April to October 13, 2015... Sars Customs seized:
Clothing & textile R648 092
Cigarettes R3 100
Counterfeit goods R44 105 342
Vehicles R65 519
Alcohol R374 816
Narcotics R378 793
Wildlife: 274 items of abalone and 102 items of shells +/- R50 000
Ivory: 35 Items - bangles, elephant tusk +/- R35 000
Other (cellphones, light bulbs etc) R1 253 202

Read More: http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/harbour-s-scanner-exposes-smuggling-1.1932356#.ViTvSStPLhA

Manyakane Court case number 108/2015
Count 1:
On July 10,2015 the accused Andrew Makala Jangamno Tanzania was charged with the offence of contravening the Pharmacy Act 38/1929 as amended. The said accused was found in possession of 22.9 Kg of dagga without a licence or permit.

Count 2:
He was also charged for failing to declare a sum of E92, 740-00 while entering the country through Sicunusa Border gate.
He appeared in court and he was sentenced as follows:
Count 1- E10, 000-00 fine or five (5) years imprisonment
Count 2- E30, 000-00 fine or five (5) years imprisonment.
The accused was able to pay the fine on both counts. Then the court ordered that he be given back his money (E92, 740-00). The prosecution appealed the order, arguing that the money must be forfeited by the state since it is the procced of crime.

 

The State is no longer extraditing the Zimbabwean housemaid accused of stealing R1,5 million, hundreds of euros and British pounds from her employer in South Africa early this year.
Constance Mujeyi (28) allegedly swindled her former employer and fled back home with her loot. The woman early this month successfully challenged her extradition to South Africa at the High Court.
The magistrates' court had notified Mujeyi of her return to South Africa to face trial despite the fact that the prosecution had not made an application for extradition.
This impelled the defence led by Mr Norman Mugiya to file an urgent chamber application challenging the extradition on the grounds that it was improperly made.
However, the prosecution has abandoned the application and will now facilitate for the complainant to come to Harare to testify in the trial.
Reliable sources in the Prosecutor-General's Office confirmed the latest development.
"The prosecution is no longer making that application for extradition," sources said. "The latest development is that the complainant who is the key witness in the matter is now being required to come here to give evidence. He is coming."
Harare magistrate Francis Mapfumo in August notified Mujeyi, who is being charged along with her two brothers Watson (27) and Mathew Laiton (23), of their extradition to South Africa for trial.
The extradition was supposed to be carried out on August 28, but the High Court suspended the decision until a proper application was made.
The move to extradite the trio came following a request by South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Mujeyi allegedly hatched a plan to steal from Veronica Wilkins and roped in her brothers, who helped her flee to Zimbabwe with the loot.
They allegedly used part of the money to build a house in Zengeza 5, Chitungwiza, and also bought a car. The three now face two counts of theft and money laundering.
According to the State, on May 11 this year, Mujeyi stole the money from Wilkins' bedroom and handed it over to Watson and Mathew, who were also working in South Africa.
It is the State's case that the three assisted the police in recovering part of the money and the car they bought was confiscated by police as an exhibit.

- See more at: http://www.bulawayo24.com/News/National/75437#sthash.SvCWtEx7.dpuf

Provided by eNCA Customs officials at OR Tambo International Airport discovered 15.4 kilogrammes of ephedrine (crystal meth) in the bag of a passenger who had arrived from Abu Dhabi on Sunday, 27 September 2015.

PRETORIA - Customs officials at OR Tambo International Airport discovered 15.4 kilogrammes of ephedrine (crystal meth) in the bag of a passenger who had arrived from Abu Dhabi on Sunday .
The narcotics have an estimated street value of R4.6-million.
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) said in a statement its officials stopped the passenger, who was proceeding through the "Nothing to declare channel-Green channel”.
According to the statement, the scanning of her one bag showed suspicious images.
Upon further investigation and searching of the bag, officials discovered 15 parcels wrapped in carbon/foil-like material hidden in the luggage.
Tests were conducted and it was confirmed that the suspected substance was ephedrine, which is the main ingredient in crystal meth.
The narcotics and passenger, identified as a South African actress, were detained and subsequently handed over to South African Police Service's (SAPS) Organised Crime for further investigation.
The actress is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
Sars has lauded bust as a significant seizure by its customs officials who implement daily inspections in an effort to foil smuggling of goods.

PRETORIA -  Airport officials have attributed their find of over R18 million worth of crystal meth at OR Tambo International to their new high tech baggage scanners.
The drugs were found in two bags from Lagos.
Suspicious looking bags were found on a carousel and sent for scanning using the high-tech baggage scanner installed at the airport in July 2015, the officials said in a statement.
"The scanner revealed what seemed to be dense blocks inside the bags. When the bags were opened, Customs officials discovered hairpieces covering several small square parcels wrapped in foil and cloth,” read the statement.
In the bag officials found 17 packets which contained crystal meth valued at R18 630 000.
They handed the packets over to the South African Police Services.
Customs officials say the new, more effective non-intrusive scanner has already proven highly successful as part of inspection processes since it has been installed.

Read More: http://www.enca.com/south-africa/high-tech-scanner-centre-or-tambo-crystal-meth-bust