Relief as police arrest ‘The Devil’

Dar es Salaam. The law enforcement body responsible for the arrest of the “Queen of Ivory” earlier this month has arrested what has been described by conservationists as a most notorious elephant poacher, Boniface Matthew Mariango, alias “The Devil,” after a manhunt that lasted for over one year.

The “Queen of Ivory”, 66, a Chinese woman called Yang Fenglan has been charged in court of smuggling 706 elephant tusks from Tanzania worth Sh5.4 billion.

Mariango was arrested by the National and Transnational Serious Crimes Investigation Unit (NTSCIU) Task Force on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

He is Tanzania’s most wanted elephant poacher and ivory trafficker, one who is believed to be responsible for the killing of thousands of elephants over the past years, according to Mr Andrea Crosta, co-founder of the Elephant Action League and the WildLeaks initiative, a US- based organisation that conducts intelligence and investigative activities on wildlife crime in various countries around the world.

In a quick rejoinder, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Adelhelm Meru, yesterday described the arrest of Mariango as another milestone in the fight against poaching.

“This is a resounding victory for Tanzania. We will not rest until we completely eliminate poaching in this country,” said Dr Meru when reached by phone.

Considered by NTSCIU to be the most prolific elephant poacher and ivory trafficker in East Africa, Mariango, 45, has managed over 15 poaching syndicates that have been operating throughout Tanzania, Burundi, Zambia, Mozambique and Kenya with impunity for years.

“This arrest is yet another big breakthrough in Tanzania’s anti-poaching and anti-trafficking efforts, with implications also reaching neighbouring countries. Finally, we’re seeing big fish getting caught in the law enforcement net,” said Mr Crosta.

“We congratulate the NTSCIU for their many recent successes. This task force, and its men and women, represent real hope for elephants and for Tanzania,” he added. A senior government official who preferred to remain anonymous, described the arrest as a major breakthrough in the fight against poaching syndicates in the country.

“After the arrest of the ‘Ivory Queen’, Mariango became enemy number one. We have been hunting him since June of 2014. He has evaded arrest again and again, slipping away at least seven times, but this time we caught him, in a wild manhunt after informers reported his whereabouts in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam,” said the official.

“The evidence we have against him is genuine. He is the major supplier of weapons, ammunition and cars to poaching syndicates operating across the country and beyond,” he explained.

He added: “And he is the ringleader of a poaching network directly supplying the ‘Queen of Ivory’ who was arrested earlier this month, with elephant tusks from all across our nation.”

According to Mr Crosta, the fight is far from over.

He said: “With both of them now in custody we will be able, for the first time, to truly crack down on the international networks involved in the illegal trafficking of ivory.”