Captain Ibrahim A. Ogle
Kenya Wildlife Service, Airwing
Captain Ogle is a
twelve year veteran of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). Over the years
he has been personally engaged in numerous confrontations with
well-armed poaching gangs. One such gang involved thirty commercial
poachers armed with fully automatic military rifles and explosive
projectiles that was poaching elephants and rhinos in Tsavo East
National Park. In addition, Captain Ogle is the central figure
responsible for the success of KWS's Airwing program, an outfit of
airplanes and trained aviators that assist in wildlife enforcement
activities.
Major Carmen Castro
Coast Guard of Costa Rica
Major Castro has
worked for the Costa Rican Coast Guard for seven years and currently
serves in the Guard?s Environmental Department. In her position, she
has been very active in addressing illegal fishing and hunting of sea
turtles, sharks, fish and molluscs and also in trying to stop illegal
trafficking in birds (mainly parrots) by sea. She has also been a major
force behind efforts to economically evaluate environmental costs of
illegal fishing and huntingin order to set legal precedents for higher
fines for violations.
Mr. Karl Karugaba
Field Officer, Lusaka Agreement Task Force
Mr. Karugaba is a
Ugandan Wildlife Officer appointed to the Lusaka Task Force
Headquarters in Nairobi. During June 2002, mr. Karugaba worked
undercover in southern Africa where he became a key figure in
collecting intelligience data that led to the seizure of 6.5 tons of
elephant ivory plus 40,810 rough cut ivory signature seals in Singapore
by INTERPOL authorities on June 26, 2002.
Special Agent Edward Grace
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Special Agent
Grace recently concluded the dismantling of a smuggling operation that
had brought over 20,000 pounds of endangered sturgeon roe (caviar),
with an estimated value in excess of US$12 million into the United
States. Special Agent Grace's recent investigations have also resulted
in large seizures of sea turtle eggs, the meat of endangered primates
and elephant ivory.
|