Uganda seizes five tons of ivory in three years

Uganda has seized about five tons of ivory from traffickers since 2013 in a flourishing illegal trade that has left security agencies puzzled but with new measures lined up to stop the crime. According to Dr. Andrew Seguya, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) executive director, an estimated five more tons of ivory has been shipped through Uganda to overseas destinations. “Another five or so tons of ivory shipped through Uganda have been seized outside our borders in Kenya, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and China,” Seguya said. Seguya revealed this at a multi-agency meeting held in Kampala last week to implement the “Container Control Programme” for boosting efforts to control the multi-billion illegal trade.

According to bloodyivory.org, an organisation that tracks the global illicit trade of ivory, a ton of ivory costs about $2 million on the black market. The four agencies signed a memorandum of understanding to guide their efforts improve enforcement operations and global wildlife trafficking through robust container inspection.

 The “Container Control Programme” is a joint initiative between UNODC and World Customs Organization to assisting governments in enforcement at seaports and dry ports. It was designed to reduce the risk of containers being used for trafficking of various illicit goods such as drugs, wildlife, firearms, weapons of mass destruction and nuclear material. Uganda becomes the latest country to formally join the CCP. As part of the programme, a special unit consisting of the three agencies will be established in Uganda to check illicit trade.

Since its inception in 2004, more than 409 similar units have been set up in 28 Countries which has led to significantly increased detections and confiscation of drugs and other illicit goods. Dr Seguya noted that one of the main challenges in containing the problem is the inability to get hold of the perpetrators of the crime. “Many times we have impounded ivory but failed to bring the kingpins to court. What is the problem?” He lamented.

Castillo warned that large volume and speed of container shipments are challenge to security agencies, noting that 730 million container movements will take place globally this year. “In principle, most of the containers are virtually uninspected, allowing consignment of drugs, weapons and other illegal goods to enter countries undetected,” Castillo said. Police chief, Ochola said wildlife and drug traffickers keep changing tactics and are known to stuff the merchandise in car seats, tyres and other parts.