State officer caught in possession of illegal game and ivory in Gabon

LIBREVILLE, Gabon - April 9, 2014 - PRLog -- Gabonese authorities attach great importance to the preservation of natural resources and the safe use of state property. Unfortunately, there are still some crooked agents who do not respect the established rules and who do not hesitate to divert material from the State for unlawful purposes. Such is the case of an agent under contract with the General Directorate of Documentation and Information (DGDI) who, April 2nd, after an accident with a government vehicle, found himself carry a good amount of game and ivory tips.

A Waters and Forests agent went to OKOLASSI at the entrance of Noum on the scene of the accident. There, he discovered that the damaged vehicle contained a large amount of game. Thereafter, he saw a young man who picked up a bag inside which there were two ivory tips. After collecting the ivory, he informed the Provincial Directorate of Waters and Forests.

For the General Directorate of Documentation and Information, the officer in question had asked his chief, obtaining a vehicle for an errand in Libreville. Management does not know how the vehicle was found outside the area of Libreville even though the vehicle was missing for two days. They sent one of their agents on site to collect more information and punish the concerned agent. He is currently in hospital, and will answer for his actions as a citizen , mistakes and crimes being numerous: ivory trafficking , abuse of power , road offense.

Without this unfortunate accident, it is likely that the ivory would've finally gone to Asia and particularly in China where demand and ivory trafficking are important. Major seizures of several tons of ivory made in the World ( Togo , Malaysia, Hong Kong) have shown that the origin was Gabon, a country in the world most affected by the poaching of elephants.