Fatal error that got ivory king on the run arrested

Mansur Mohamed in the dock at Milimani law courts in Nairobi on September 28, last year. [File, Standard]

Mansur Mohamed Surur knew his fate had been sealed in a New York courtroom on May 7, 2019. On this day, an indictment was returned and filed in the United States district court for the southern District of New York, charging Mansur with violating criminal laws of the US.

“Surur, an African-based trafficker of wildlife and drugs, along with others both known and unknown, has been part of a transnational criminal conspiracy that began in or about at least December 2012, which is based in the Republic of Uganda and surrounding countries and which has engaged in the large-scale trafficking and smuggling of rhino horns and elephant ivory,” read the indictment.

Ten days later, on May 17, 2019, the court issued a warrant of arrest for a man who law enforcement agencies believed to be one of the biggest wildlife traffickers in the world. At that time, Mansur, who had been in the illegal game business since 2012, was in Kampala.