Translated from the French by an automated online translation service, so please excuse the roughness. See link for original.
See link for photo.
Two individuals of Congolese nationality (28 and 40 years old) will be prosecuted by the Dolisie High Court in the Niari for the possession, transit, circulation and attempted marketing of 21 pieces of ivory, ie eight ivory points, representing five elephants killed.
Arrested in flagrante delicto, on 29 August in Dolisie in the Niari department, by the agents of the departmental department of Eaux-et-Forêts and the national gendarmerie, with the support of the project PALF enforcement of the Wildlife Act), these two alleged ivory traffickers were detained at Dolisie Prison on 1 September 2017.
The opening of the trial in this case is therefore expected on 15 September 2017 during which these defendants will be held accountable before the Congolese courts.
Large ivory traders whose source of supply of these products is Gabon, one of these defendants would be the supplier and the other a driver transporting these ivories from the district of Banda to Dolisie. The two arrested individuals had acknowledged the allegations of possession, transit, circulation and attempted marketing of 21 pieces of ivory, all weighing about 45 kg.
Exemplary sentences should be imposed on these suspected traffickers to condemn these acts severely, to deter all those who wish to destroy the emblem of the Republic of the Congo. They face up to five years’ imprisonment.
The elephant belongs to species enjoying absolute protection in the Republic of the Congo according to the decree n ° 32-82 of November 18, 1991. And article 27 of the law n ° 37-2008 of November 28, 2008 on the wildlife and protected areas in its terms: “import; export; the possession and transit through the national territory of fully protected species; as well as their trophies are strictly prohibited; unless special derogation from the administration of water and forests; for the purposes of scientific research”.
Given the magnitude of the pressure on elephants, the involvement of all in denouncing this trafficking to the competent authorities and to strictly and rigorously enforce the Congolese law in this matter become very important actions in the fight against this the World Scourge that strips our forests of its most beautiful pearls and threatens the very survival of all mankind.