Buea (Fako) - The Control Brigade of the South West Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife has arrested another Internet scammer engaged in selling endangered and totally protected or class A wildlife species through the Internet. The arrested Internet scammer is accused of carrying out, with an accomplice based in China, international fraud schemes involving falsification of government documents.

The South West Forestry and Wildlife Delegation was assisted in the arrest of the Internet scammer by the Forces of Law and Order, the Judiciary and The Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA). Internet wildlife trafficking in totally protected wildlife species is punishable under Cameroon's laws. Sections 101 and 158 of the 1994 wildlife law provides for 1 to 3 years imprisonment term and 3 to 10 million CFA francs while section 203 of the penal code gives a maximum of 20 year-sentence to anyone found guilty of using falsified government documents.

The Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife is now in a renewed alert mode to track down and sanction all those who do not respect the wildlife law. "Our Country Cameroon can and will in no way afford to encourage direct or distant illegal trade in its wildlife heritage", states Professor Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, Minister of Forestry and Wildlife.

The recent arrest of the Internet scammer in wildlife trade came after a call on governments during the last Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to increase efforts in combating illegal Internet wildlife trade and fraud, bearing in mind the fact that trafficking in wildlife trade has taken a new dimension through Internet, a method the South West Delegate of Forestry and Wildlife, Mbah Grace describes as being remote. "This method is remote because it is not something which is tangible, you can't see it, so the traffickers do it through the Internet and you need high techniques to be able to track this type of dangerous illegal wildlife traders", said Mbah Grace.

Describing the extent to which wildlife crime through the Internet has gone, the Director of The Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA), Ofir Drori states, "We now realize that Internet wildlife fraud scheme is far organized than we had thought. Internet fraud is now a fast growing criminal activity in Cameroon", adding "We will continue to concentrate on more investigations in collaboration with authorities around the world with complaints of Internet wildlife trade and fraud in Cameroon".

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