West Africa has emerged as a major source and transit point for the $23 billion illegal trade in protected wildlife and wildlife products, but new research indicates that the region's law enforcement and financial intelligence units, or FIUs, generally do not investigate the crime. In a 64-page report Friday, the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based policy center, found that tougher enforcement in East Africa has pushed poachers and traffickers westward, with Nigeria emerging as the world's most prolific hub for illegal exports of elephant ivory and pangolin scales. "A combination of weak law enforcement capacity, low prioritization, well-connected transportation...
The Royal United Services Institute published a report examining illegal wildlife trade in West Africa, highlighting that profit-driven organized crime groups in the region are involved in the growing criminal activity.
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