22 elephant tusks, 130.84kg, four arrests, and one very bad weekend for traffickers.

Right, here is the gist, and it is a big one for wildlife protection.

Over the weekend, the Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit Zone A in Ikeja, teamed up with NESREA and the Wildlife Justice Commission and pulled off a proper sting operation. They intercepted 22 pieces of elephant tusks weighing 130.84 kilograms, with a black-market street value put at N126.3 million in Asia.

The bust happened simultaneously in Ofada and Mowe in Ogun State, plus other spots around Lagos, according to a Monday statement by the unit's Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent Hussaini Abdullahi.

Four male suspects were picked up, along with a vehicle used in the operation. Both the tusks and the men are now in custody pending investigation and prosecution.

How did they get them? Good old-fashioned intelligence work. Abdullahi said it was "well-coordinated intelligence gathering, surveillance, and investigation" into an organised wildlife trafficking syndicate operating within and beyond our borders, led by FOU Zone A and the Customs Intelligence Unit's SIS A team.

The Customs Area Controller for FOU Zone A, Gambo Aliyu, called it a clear sign Nigeria is serious about CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which we are signatory to. He pointed to Section 55 (1) para 1 (i) of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, which outright prohibits illegal trade in endangered species.

He also gave big credit to NESREA and the WJC, saying the win would not have happened without them, and urged the public to keep reporting suspicious shipments. "The NCS will not hesitate to take enforcement action," he warned.

Big win for the good guys this time.

Story credit: cbinewstv (based on official Nigeria Customs Service, FOU Zone A statement)

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