A chief without Indians : wildlife officer John Sellar

[Guest guest]

*Snakes on a plane and eggs in a bra *

 

*Geneva - John Sellar is no comic book super hero, but judging by the

criminals he deals with as the only police officer at the UN agency against

illegal wildlife trade, he could well be one.

 

Russian mafia, Latin American druglords, suspected rebel or terror groups

and crooked Asian diplomats count among poachers of rhinoceros, tigers and

leopards whom Sellar aims to collar.

 

" My title is chief, but I have no Indians, " he told AFP.

 

A former police officer in Scotland, he is the " enforcement assistance

chief " at the UN agency against illegal wildlife trade, the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

 

With a budget of $5,1-million (about R40-million) this year, its resources

are so strapped that the organisation does not even have a data base of

known criminal activities in illegal trafficking of animal parts.

 

Sellar's space is confined to a small office that fits in only an L-shaped

desk, three chairs and a row of bookshelves, where he coordinates

enforcement activities undertaken by local customs authorities or police.

 

However, in many of the poorer countries where poaching occurs, enforcement

teams " don't even have access to forensic science for murder, so they're not

going to have resources for rhinos, " he said.

 

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, organised crime appears to be tightening its

grip on the illegal trade, attracted by its high returns, according to

evidence collected by CITES and non-governmental organisations.

 

The Russian mafia has been found to be involved in illicit caviar trade,

while some Asian gangs have been caught trafficking rhino horns, which are

promoted for medical uses, and elephant ivory, so prized in Asian art.

 

Sellar is reluctant to estimate the value of the illicit commerce, but said

the high value could be driving more people to try their luck in the trade.

 

Major conservation groups including the Worldwide Fund for Nature said in a

report last month that demand for rhinoceros horns in Asia has driven

rhinoceros poaching to a 15-year-high.

 

A rhino horn is easily worth " several tens of thousands of dollars per

kilo, " he noted. " In weight, rhino horn is much more profitable than gold or

diamonds or heroin or cocaine. You're getting much more returns. "

 

Some criminals are also attracted by the prospect of laundering other

ill-gotten gains, added Sellar.

 

" The money associated with narcotics, human trafficking is huge. They have

so much money they don't know what to do with it. They can't wash it fast

enough, " said Sellar.

 

" They've obviously been looking into areas where they can get into - ivory

is one, caviar trade is another. " - AFP *

 

** <http://www.afp.com/>

*

 

Published on the Web by IOL on 2009-08-05 06:51:27** *

 

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