It’s estimated that 1500 monkeys are smuggled out of the Democratic Republic of Congo every year in a trade worth millions of dollars. When a crate of 40 monkeys coming from the DRC was intercepted back in 2023, it provided a window into how corrupt officials, working with poachers, operate with impunity.
It wast the biggest seizure of primates in the history of the African continent. The crates bound for Thailand contained ten different species of monkey, only four of which were on the permit. “They were using the names of some of the more common species to export the most endangered ones”, explains the customs officer. On the permits were the names of two notorious individuals, known trafficker Frank Mampa and Augustin Ngumbi, a powerful government official responsible for issuing animal export permits. Ngumbi was also accused of corruption by the US State Department regarding the trafficking of gorillas and chimpanzees to China.
Ultimately, in the aftermath of the scandal, Augustin Ngumbi. was forced to leave his job, but all charges against him were dismissed. He left with the book of permits allowing the export of animals and it’s suspected that he is still providing these to traffickers. We met with smugglers who openly reveal how they bribe customs officials and trap baby monkeys to order and spoke to the middlemen involved in the trade.
As the founder of Conserv Congo states “One day we’re going to look back. This forest will be empty. And it will be a catastrophe.”
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