Namibia has reported 17 cases of wildlife crimes and 34 arrests during Operation Saving African Wildlife through Multilateral Assistance (SAMA), which was conducted between January and February.

Hosted by the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Customs Organisation (UNODC), Operation SAMA is the first Africa-focused initiative on wildlife trafficking.

Operation SAMA united 35 nations from East, West, Central, and Southern Africa in a concerted effort to combat the illicit wildlife trade. 

Rundu has seen an increase in certain crimes in 2023 compared to 2022, according to statistics provided by the Kavango East Regional Police.

The statistics compare various crimes between January and December 2022 and January and September 2023.

Even though the whole of 2022 reported 408 cases of housebreaking and theft, by September this year, that figure had already reached 488.

Theft stood at 258 cases last year, but by September 2023, it had increased to 398.

The Namibian Police (NamPol), the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), and the Bank of Namibia (BoN) signed an agreement to curb transnational organised crimes as well as reduce the risk of the country being grey-listed by the Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group and the Financial Action Task Force (ESAAMLG).

NamPol, as a member of Interpol, has access to global communication systems, which link law enforcement agencies in all 195 countries.

The recent increase in wildlife crimes in the country remains a concern to the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism. 

A total of 55 rhinos have been poached between January and August this year, an increase of 11 cases compared to last year.

The hotspots for these poaching incidents are the Etosha National Park and private game farms.

A total of 36 people were arrested for rhino-related cases this year, compared to 80 last year.