July 2025 | Nigeria
In a bold and coordinated effort, Nigeria Customs Service’s Special Wildlife Office (SWO)—mentored and supported by Focused Conservation—has successfully disrupted a major organized criminal network trafficking in pangolin scales. The covert investigation, dubbed Operation Orange, culminated on July 16, 2025, with the arrest of a key suspect and the seizure of 433 kilograms of Giant pangolin scales in the Kano region of northern Nigeria.
The investigation began when the SWO, through intelligence gathering and operational mentorship, developed a covert relationship with a transnational trafficking network suspected of sourcing pangolin scales for illegal export. After building trust over a period of time, the SWO arranged a face-to-face meeting with the traffickers near Kano. In a suspected attempt to evade law enforcement, the traffickers changed the meeting location twice and then chose a premises approximately 60 kilometers away.
Despite these efforts to obscure the operation, a tactical SWO team, with surveillance and backup support from Nigeria Customs Intelligence and Police Units, maintained full operational awareness. At the remote site, the traffickers weighed 12 large bags of pangolin scales before transporting the scales to a secure compound.
At this final location, a man identified as Yusuf Abdullahi Said was found to be orchestrating the transaction. After placing several phone calls to his associates, Said entered a locked room containing the same 12 bags previously inspected—now confirmed to weigh 433 kilograms.
Said was arrested on-site, and the pangolin scales were seized.
The scales were confirmed to be from Giant pangolins (Smutsia gigantea)—the largest of the eight pangolin species and one of the most threatened. Based on established wildlife trafficking estimates, this haul represents the slaughter of approximately 600 to 1,100 individual pangolins.
“This case is significant not just for the quantity of scales recovered, but for the sophisticated tactics used by the traffickers and the professionalism shown by the SWO and Nigeria Customs in countering it,” said Wim Brown. Focused Conservation CEO. “These officers are on the frontlines of a global crisis, and their dedication is making a real impact.”
Pangolins are the most heavily trafficked mammal in the world, driven primarily by demand for their scales in traditional medicine markets, particularly in Asia. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Nigeria continues to be a global hub for the trafficking of pangolin scales and other wildlife products, often acting as a key transit and consolidation point for shipments bound for Asia.
In recent years, law enforcement agencies in Nigeria have intercepted several multi-ton seizures of pangolin scales, highlighting the scale and persistence of the illegal trade. Operation Orange represents another step forward in countering this trend through targeted, intelligence-led operations and international collaboration.
Focused Conservation remains committed to supporting and mentoring specialized wildlife units like the SWO. By equipping officers with the training, tools, and operational guidance they need, efforts like Operation Orange show that meaningful progress is possible—even in the face of sophisticated, high-level trafficking networks.
