To tackle wildlife crime, joined-up thinking and co-operation between different countries is vital - EIA
Ceres Kam
Wildlife Campaigner, Elephants
Every year, customs officers around the world make impressive seizures of illegal wildlife goods, such as the huge haul of ivory and pangolin scales intercepted in Nigeria in January.
But when it comes to effectively disrupting the criminal networks behind these shipments, few tactics are as successful and effective as co-operation between different enforcement agencies.
In April, it was reported that China Customs had arrested principal criminals Hu Juqiang and Chen Jiancheng, the last two wanted in connection with the biggest ivory smuggling case in the country to date.
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Seventeen people have been jailed including two for life for running China s largest ever ivory smuggling ring, moving millions of dollars of tusks from west Africa into the mainland s vast domestic market.
Demand for ivory carvings and jewellery among China s expanding middle class led to poaching crisis across Africa, and although a 2018 ban on ivory trade in China has improved the situation, a vast black market still exists.
A court in the southern city of Guangzhou on Tuesday handed long prison terms to 17 people involved in smuggling over 20 tons of ivory worth more than 1 billion yuan ($156 million).