The Nigeria Customs Service Special Wildlife Office and the gallant officers of Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone C, in a joint enforcement operation with the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) have apprehended the shipper of the 40 ft container of illegal wildlife products intercepted and reported by Vietnam authorities in April 2024.
Barely six weeks after the news was reported in Vietnam, the team equally arrested a suspected supplier of ivory (in addition to the shipper), during the same joint operation in the Eastern Nigeria.
The Comptroller in charge of FOU Zone C, Comptroller Mike Ugbagu, said apprehending these persons is to send a clear signal to other perpetrators of these illegal acts which are in contravention of the Customs export guidelines/ Nigeria Customs Service Act, and the Endangered Species Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that wildlife trafficking, illegal wildlife trade and any form of Wildlife crime will not be condoned.
This, he said, is also to reaffirm the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)’s commitment to support all global initiatives to fight wildlife crime in all its forms.
According to the officer in charge of the NCS Special Wildlife office, Asst Comptroller Abimbola Isafiade, “the efficient and multi-focused response by NCS to the seizure in Vietnam demonstrates that it is not business as usual concerning the Nigeria-Vietnam trafficking corridor.
She said, NCS would continue to follow the money to find all those who benefit from this crime.
