Nowhere to hide for ‘ivory baron'

A man described as one of the most wanted poachers in the world was brought back to Kenya Wednesday after six months on the run.

Mr Feisal Mohammed Ali was flown to Nairobi under heavy guard after he was busted in Tanzania, where he has been hiding since June.

He was then transferred to Coast where officers then handed him to a different team led by head of criminal investigations in Mombasa. 
He had been on the run for six months following the seizure of 2,152 tonnes of ivory in Mombasa on June 9.

Two alleged accomplices — Abdul Halim Sadiq and Ghalib Sadiq Kara — were arrested at the time, but Mr Ali escaped.

However, his freedom came to an abrupt end when an undercover team of Kenyan and Tanzanian officers arrested him at his hideout in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday.

His escape in June triggered an international operation to arrest and bring him to justice in an operation code-named Infra( International Fugitive Round Up and Arrest).

It is now suspected that his illegal activities were supported by wealthy businessmen, senior police officers and politicians both in Kenya and abroad who formed the network that made his illegal businesses thrive.

Yesterday, he was being held by police in Mombasa.

According to police, he is the head of a cartel responsible for poaching of elephants across Africa, and trafficking in ivory in the black market.

He was arrested in a sting operation involving officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations working with their counterparts in Tanzania, under the auspices of Interpol.

The arrest was the climax of six months of an undercover operation.

Mr Ali was arrested on the strength of a warrant granted by the Mombasa court as well as an international “red notice” issued in October by Interpol.

The officer in charge of the Interpol bureau in Nairobi Vitalis Okumu said fresh charges against Feisal were being prepared and more will be introduced.

Mr Okumu added: “My officers went to Tanzania accompanied by an informer and once there, they sought the help of their counterparts, of course because of jurisdiction issues.”

ACROSS AFRICA

Police are expected to argue that he is a baron who organises and ensures that elephants are poached, not only in Kenya, but across Africa.

According to police, Mr Ali has for more than a decade controlled a vast network but until June, there was no evidence to pin him down since most of his wealth is traced to legitimate businesses.

The investigation has revealed that wealthy businessmen, senior police officers and politicians are part of that network.

After Interpol joined the probe, Mr Ali was targeted in the international hunt that sought to arrest nine high value poachers in Africa.

The suspects are wanted for various crimes including illegal fishing, wildlife trafficking, illegal trade and disposal of waste, illegal logging and trading in illicit ivory.

It is the first Interpol fugitive operation targeting individuals wanted for crimes touching on the environment. Mr Ali is the second of the nine to be arrested after Zambian national Ben Simasiku, who was charged with possessing ivory from Botswana.

Ivory trafficking is a multi-billion dollar illegal business. The secretive way and brutality by which ivory trafficking thrives inspired an entire episode of the popular television series, the Blacklist, which is being screened in the United States.

Pirated copies of the show sell like hot cakes in Kenya. Incidentally, the series producers named the episode, the Mombasa Cartel. The Mombasa Cartel, presents not just mere poachers but traffickers who have operated behind a veil of impenetrable secrecy.