Dutch wildlife crime detected

This 2014 video from North Brabant province in the Netherlands is about a fifteen-year-old boy who tried to sell illegal ivory and wild cat species‘ skins.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV:

Big catch of illegal animal skins, bones and ivory

Today, 10:46

In North Brabant province a huge amount of material of protected and endangered animals and plants has been found. It involves, eg, coral and skins and bones of endangered animals.

The discovery was made in a joint operation by customs, police and the Food and Drugs Authority NVWA.

Showroom

The items were in an office building and five sheds. Skins of snakes, monkey skulls, ivory jewelry and hundreds of kilos of coral were displayed in a showroom and were stored in crates and boxes. The police have taken three days to find out the illegal material between the legal stuff. Also, half a million euros in cash and gold was found.

The police found out about the company after customs in Rotterdam had intercepted a container from China. It contained 345 kilos of coral, for which no authorization had been sought. Two weeks ago, a search started at the Brabant business.

The 53-year-old owner of the company is the suspect in this case, but he has not been arrested yet.

‘Poached’ offers a deep, disturbing look into the illegal wildlife trade. A new book offers a firsthand account of the battle between traffickers and conservationists: here.

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