A press release from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks has stated that the operation, which has come to an end, has been able to penetrate criminal syndicates leading to numerous arrests and seizures of prohibited products from undesirable characters. COBRA was an international operation that took place across Africa, Asia and the United States. According to the release, the operation brought together institutions in the country as well as other stakeholders such as the Botswana Defence Force, Botswana Police Service, veterinary services, the Botswana Unified Revenue Services, immigration and civil aviation.
The 439-member operation team were able to arrest criminal syndicates who had in their possession different parts of rifles distributed among syndicates for purposes of smuggling them into Botswana."Whereas some possessed parts of rifles, some individuals who were arrested at different points of entry possessed ammunition for similar rifles which is an indication of a strategic criminal syndicate," read the release. The operation also enabled Botswana to unearth new criminal trends, especially involving non-citizens who were arrested for possession of processed and unprocessed ivory products. The products have since been seized from the suspects.In some cases, investigations have been completed and matters are awaiting prosecution.
