A staggering 2,600 skins and other animal parts, including the remains of 12 lions, have been seized in Senegal and five suspected traffickers have been arrested and charged.
The seizure was the result of two back-to-back sting operations carried out by the Senegalese Ministry of Environment and the police, in collaboration with SALF (Sénégal-Application de la Loi Faunique), a wildlife law enforcement project funded by the Born Free Foundation.
SALF has been carrying out undercover activities investigating a large scale international trafficking supply centre in Dakar, Senegal’s capital city. This supply centre is responsible for the illegal import of skins across the continent (from Niger, Mali, Republic of Congo and Kenya among others), and their export to Lebanon and Europe, as well as supply for local use.
The approximately 2,600 wildlife parts impounded include hyena, leopard, python and lion skins, as well as lion teeth and bat heads.
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