55 arrested in Malawi poaching sting

Guest blog: Rory Young, Chengeta Wildlife
Breaking story… (watch this space)
So far 44 arrests in last 24 hours. And 55 in the last 48 hours. That has to be some sort of record…
In the beautiful National Reserve where I am currently doing ops training with Malawi DNPW rangers we are trying to make as big of an impact as possible, as quickly as possible, and on as many illegal activities as possible.
The illegal activities range from elephant hunting to marijuana growing to timber harvesting.

The individuals undertaking these crimes are often linked to each other and are aggressive. For example, nearly all the poaching in the area is done with firearms and for years the weed growers have been shooting at anyone who comes near their isolated area.
Making so many arrests in such a short time without a single fatality or injury to either our officers or the criminals is something we are proud of. I do believe that if we had been shooting first and asking questions later that we would have dealt with only a fraction of this number and would have almost certainly sustained casualties.
We still have almost two weeks to go and intend to keep up the momentum. Again, watch this space…
This work is funded by chengetawildlife.org so thank you to all those who donate to Chengeta. Doctrine and trainer are provided by ttoscorp.com

The picture above shows a ranger returning from a successful ambush of an entry point. The poachers brazenly advertised the route to each other by the grass that can be seen tied to the tree. (We did thank them profusely for providing us with that information after we arrested them…)

Recent news stories from Saving the Wild…

New Zealand broadband company to donate 100% account profits to Saving the Wild
An open letter to Global Citizens fighting to save elephants and rhinos

One woman’s mission to ban the ivory trade