Wildlife and drugs trafficker Abdi Hussein Ahmed has been extradited to the United States following his arrest in Meru county last week.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Hussein had rented a house in Maua where he had been hiding.
He is wanted in the US following his indictment in a $7 million protected wildlife species trafficking case alongside members of an international trafficking ring comprising Moazu Kromah, Amara Cherif and Mansur Mohamed involved in the poaching of more than 35 rhinoceros and 100 elephants.
He was nabbed during a raid by detectives from the Serious Crimes Unit on August 30 after a tip-off which was received by the directorate via its anonymous hotline.
Hussein was then brought to Nairobi and arraigned in court to face extradition charges before Milimani Chief Magistrate Roseline Aganyo the following day.
“From December 2012 through May 2019, Ahmed and his co-conspirators conspired to transport, distribute, sell and smuggle at least approximately 190 kilograms of rhinoceros horns and at least 10 tons of elephant ivory from various countries in East Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mozambique, Senegal and Tanzania, to buyers located in the United States and countries in Southeast Asia,” the DCI said after announcing his successful extradition.
Joint investigations
The arrest was after a joint investigation by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led to their charging with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin.
On May 31, a week after a $1 million reward had been offered for information leading to their arrest and conviction, Hussein’s accomplice Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh was arrested at Liboi in Garissa County while attempting to cross over to Somalia.
In June he was arraigned in court to face extradition charges which he did not oppose and was consequently handed over to the American authorities.
Kromah, alias Ayoub/Ayuba, or Kampala Man, a citizen of Liberia, was previously deported to the United States from Uganda on June 13, 2019.
Amara Cherif, alias Bamba Issiaka, a citizen of Guinea, was extradited to the United States from Senegal on April 3, 2020.
Their other accomplice Mansour was arrested on July 29, 2020, and subsequently presented in court on charges of conspiracy to traffic rhinoceros’ horns and elephant ivory, both endangered wildlife species.
Additionally, he was also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 10 kilograms of heroin.
“The excellent work of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the DEA has put an end to this operation,” said the New York District Attorney.
Transnational criminal enterprise
According to the US Justice Department, the suspects are members of a transnational criminal enterprise dubbed the “Enterprise” based in Uganda and surrounding countries that was engaged in the large-scale trafficking and smuggling of rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, both protected wildlife species.
In total, the estimated average retail value of the rhinoceros horns involved in the conspiracy was at least approximately $3.4 million (Sh340 million), and the estimated average retail value of the elephant ivory involved in the conspiracy was at least approximately $4 million (Sh400 million).
The suspects are said to have exported and agreed to export the rhinoceros’ horns and elephant ivory for delivery to foreign buyers, including those represented to be in Manhattan, New York in packaging that concealed the rhinoceros’ horns and elephant ivory, among other things, pieces of art such as African masks and statues.
The suspects received and deposited payments from foreign customers that were sent in the form of international wire transfers, some of which were sent through US financial institutions.
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