On September 15, 2025, the Uganda Wildlife Crime Unit (UWCU) executed Operation Indus in the Mubende District of Central Uganda, successfully disrupting a trafficking network dealing in pangolins.
The operation was the culmination of months of intelligence-led investigation into a supply chain moving pangolins through the region. Acting on credible information, UWCU operatives deployed to Mubende expecting to encounter a live pangolin in need of rescue.
Tragically, investigators learned the endangered Giant Pangolin (Smutsia gigantea) had already been killed. Its meat had been sold for consumption, but traffickers retained the skin for sale on the black market. Adapting swiftly, UWCU officers posed as buyers, arranging a meeting with the supplier to recover the illegal wildlife product and secure an arrest.
At the meeting, the trafficker produced a large Giant Pangolin skin. The species is the largest of all pangolins, capable of reaching up to 35 kilograms in weight. Once the item was confirmed, police officers on standby arrested the suspect. The motorcycle used to transport the skin was also seized and is expected to be forfeited through proceedings at the Standards, Utilities, and Wildlife Court.
Operation Indus underscores both the persistent threat of pangolin trafficking in Uganda and UWCU’s determination to dismantle criminal networks exploiting one of the world’s most heavily trafficked mammals.
