NEW YORK, U.S.A, Jan 25 – Infamous ivory, rhinoceros horns and drug trafficker Mansur Mohammed alias Mansour has been extradited from Kenya to New York in the United States months after he was arrested at the Mombasa International airport after evading law enforcement officers.
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.
This involved the illegal poaching 35 rhinoceros and more than 100 elephants.
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.
Mansour who arrived in New York Monday morning local time, had while in a Kenyan court attempted to prevent his extradition but was unsuccessful after the prosecution presented a witness that confirmed he was indeed wanted in the U.S for committing various crimes.
New York District attorney Audrey Strauss who made the announcement revealed that the suspect is part of an international syndicate engaging in the illicit trade.
“Mansur Mohamed Surur is alleged to be a member of an international conspiracy to traffic in rhino horns, elephant ivory, and heroin.The enterprise is allegedly responsible for the illegal slaughter of dozens of rhinos and more than 100 elephants, both endangered species.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.
The suspect alongside his accomplices are said to be 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.
Trade involving endangered or threatened species violates several U.S. laws, as well as international treaties implemented by certain U.S. laws.
From December 2012 through May 2019, Mansour and his partners conspired to transport,distribute, sell and smuggle at least approximately 190 kilograms of rhinoceros horns and at least approximately 10 tons of elephant ivory from or involving various countries in East Africa, including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, and Tanzania, to buyers located in the United States and countries in Southeast Asia.
In total, the estimated average retail value of the rhinoceros horn involved in the conspiracy was at least approximately $3.4 million, and the estimated average retail value of the elephant ivory involved in the conspiracy was at least approximately $4 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 in, 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 which were sent through U.S. financial institutions.
Some of Mansour’s criminal partners including: Moazu 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, were extradited to the United States from Senegal on April 3, 2020.
Abdi Hussein Ahmed, alias Abu Khadi, a citizen of Kenya, remains a fugitive.
Mansour is expected to be arraigned later Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.
Mansour, 60, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking and two counts of wildlife trafficking, which each carry a maximum sentence of five years; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; and one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Attorney Strauss thanked the Kenyan and Ugandan authorities for cooperating with their counterparts in the US, saying the war against drugs remain a global issue.
“We thank law enforcement authorities and conservation partners in Uganda as well as the Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Kenyan Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for their assistance in the investigation,” Strauss said.
Kenyan authorities had revealed that Mansour had been on the run for 12 years,escaping police dragnets for several times at his Kwale home before fleeing to DR Congo and thereafter Yemen in 2006.
Want to send us a story? Contact Shahidi News Tel: +254115512797 (Mobile & WhatsApp)