Friday June 3, 2022
By Dennis Musau
A Kenyan has pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic in rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory in a Federal Court in Manhattan, New York, United States.
Mansur Mohamed Surur, alias Mansour, was involved in the illegal poaching of more than approximately 35 rhinoceros and more than 100 elephants, according to a Wednesday statement by the US Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York.
“The protection of endangered wildlife and natural resources is a crucial and important priority for my Office. These defendants were responsible for furthering an industry that illegally slaughters species protected by international agreements around the world,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.
Williams also noted that the 62-year-old additionally pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute “a large quantity of heroin” to a buyer located in the United States.
Surur had been charged alongside fellow Kenyans Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh and Abdi Hussein Ahmed, as well as Moazu Kromah of Liberia and Amara Cherif of Guinea.
Kromah and Cherif had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic in rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, as well as substantive charges of trafficking in rhinoceros horns.
In the meantime, Saleh is in custody in Kenya based on a U.S. extradition request, and Ahmed remains a fugitive.
The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to Ksh.116.9 million ($1 million) for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
Court documents show that Kromah, Cherif, and Surur were members of a transnational criminal enterprise (the “Enterprise”), based in Uganda and surrounding countries, that was engaged in the large-scale trafficking and smuggling of rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory.
Between December 2012 through May 2019, the three, and others conspired to transport, distribute, sell and smuggle at least approximately 190 kilograms of rhinoceros horns and at least approximately 10 tons of elephant ivory, all valued at Ksh.865 million ($7.4 million), from East Africa to buyers located in the United States and countries in Southeast Asia.
In March 2018, law enforcement agents intercepted a package containing a black rhino horn sold by the defendants, that was intended for a buyer represented to be in Manhattan.
From March through May 2018, the defendants also offered to sell additional rhinoceros horns of varying weights, including horns weighing up to approximately seven kilograms.
In July 2018, law enforcement agents intercepted another package containing two rhinoceros horns sold by the defendants that were intended for a buyer represented to be in Manhattan.
Kromah previously was expelled to the United States from Uganda, while Cherif and Surur were extradited from Senegal and Kenya, respectively.
Surur is awaiting a sentence from a Federal district court judge per the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking attracts a maximum sentence of five years in prison, while conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.