SOMALILAND SENTENCES A LEADING CHEETAH TRAFFICKER TO 4 YEARS IMPRISONMENT

(MENAFN- Anyiko PR) HARGEISA, Somaliland (January 19, 2021) – A repeated cheetah trafficker Abdirahman Yusuf Mahdi, popularly known as “Abdi Haywaan”, convicted for trafficking of cheetahs by Maroodi Jeeh Regional Court in November 2020 has started his 4-year-long sentence following a failure to appeal against the court’s verdict. According to the Somaliland Wildlife and Forestry Law enacted in 2015, the perpetrator, known to the authorities as one of the key persons in illegal chetah trade in the Horn of Africa was previously sentenced for the same crime in April 2018.
Due to the repeated nature of the offence and the gravity of the crime, Somaliland Prosecution Service led by Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud, a dedicated environmental crime prosecutor, sought for an extended criminal sentence for the main perpetrator, defining him as a professional habitual criminal. Accomplice of the main perpetrator Maxamed Ali Guled was also sentenced to one year for his role in the criminal act.
The two perpetrators were arrested in an operation conducted by the Somaliland Police and the Somaliland Ministry of Environment and Rural Development on October 16 2020. Director General of Somaliland Ministry of Environment and Rural Development, Abdinasir Hersi, said, “The two associates were intercepted with ten Cheetah cubs in Hargeisa following a targeted Counter Wildlife Trafficking operation. We also confiscated a private vehicle used in the trafficking. Extended sentencing and asset confiscations is one of our strategies to countering Illegal wildlife trade.”
Mr. Hersi elaborated, “The arrest and successful prosecution is a result of relentless Counter Wildlife Trafficking efforts in the recent months by the Ministry of Environment, Somaliland Police and Somaliland Regional Administrations. It demonstrates that Somaliland is a leading actor in countering illegal wildlife trade in the Horn of Africa,” adding, “Between July and October 2020 Somaliland Police and the Ministry of Environment and Rural Development, with technical and operational support from Torrid Analytics, have conducted a total of six operations in western Somaliland leading to confiscation of a total of 16 cheetah cubs, one leopard cub and acquisition of valuable information about Illegal Wildlife Trade.
This momentum was utilized in October 2020 and in the consequent successful prosecution”. For at least a decade, Somaliland has been a conduit for the largest trading route for live cheetah cubs in the world. The most endangered African big cat’s cubs have been moving through Somaliland towards the Gulf, utilizing its vast and largely uninhabited coast line towards Yemen and onwards to other Arab countries in the region. Research by Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, estimates that about 300 cheetah cubs are exported from the region annually. Read an article here
“We are very pleased with our increased capacities to disrupt Illegal Wildlife Trade in Somaliland. The recent arrests of one of the most important smugglers in the cheetah trafficking network is a great success for us and it proves immense value of cooperation with our CWT partners such as Torrid Analytics. We believe the arrests will effectively disrupt cheetah trafficking out of Somaliland and we are hopeful that these instances will send a clear signal to the smugglers and communities involved in Illegal Wildlife Trade that their illegal efforts will be identified and countered”, concluded Hersi.

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