A five-day workshop aims to enhance national agencies' ability to combat organized crime and illegal resource exploitation.
Gabon's Directorate General of Customs and Indirect Duties, with support from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, is hosting a national workshop in Libreville focused on combating illegal timber exports and wildlife crime. The training, which began on October 19, 2026, aims to strengthen the capacities of law enforcement agencies and improve coordination against criminal organizations involved in these illicit activities.
The workshop brings together 30 participants from various national administrations and is part of the EU-funded Guard Wildlife program. It seeks to improve the detection of offenses, the conduct of investigations, and the judicial processing of cases related to the trafficking of timber and wildlife, which contribute to biodiversity loss, state revenue decline, and the growth of organized criminal networks.
Training modules include identifying fake permits, recognizing timber species, inspecting cargo, and tracking illicit financial flows to better detect infractions and dismantle trafficking rings. Practical exercises at the port of Owendo are designed to equip participants with enhanced investigation skills and improve the compilation of cases for prosecution.
Why it mattersThe workshop aims to improve the detection of illegal timber and wildlife trafficking, which impacts state revenue and supports organized crime.
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