The illegal wildlife trade is the fourth largest illegal activity worldwide behind arms, drugs, and human trafficking.

The Kenyan port of Mombasa is the fifth busiest in Africa, handling over 1.5 million shipping containers every year. Illegal wildlife items are smuggled to the port via the Mombasa Road, which links with Kenya’s capital, Nairobi and beyond.

To combat this, our intelligence network has eyes and ears everywhere. The primary focus has always been stopping the illegal ivory and rhino horn trade, but there are a myriad of other wildlife crimes that pop up on our radar.

Recently, we were alerted to two individuals trafficking five live terrapins in Kibwezi, one of the Mombasa Road’s busy towns. In a joint operation with the Kenya Wildlife Service, they were arrested just as they were about to take their defenseless cargo to Mombasa where they would have been shipped to exotic pet buyers halfway across the globe. The vehicle they were using was expensive, and the main trafficker wore flashy clothes, indicating that they were likely working for wealthy clients.

The two suspects were charged on two counts in contravention of Kenya’s Wildlife and Conservation Management Act and are to appear before court. The terrapins meanwhile have been released, back into their natural habitat.

This case serves as a reminder that not all wildlife criminals hide in the shadows, some operate in plain sight. Whatever their methods, our intelligence network rarely fails to track these people down and stop them. Upper left 📸: Joshua Clay