Thank you to Anne Dillon for finding and translating these stories. -- Nine Kilograms of Ivory Seized in Burundi (Burundi) Arib Info October 27, 2014 Bujumbura, Burundi - The Director of Civil Aviation of Burundi, Albert Maniratunga, announced on Monday the seizure of nine kilograms of ivory during a routine check of baggage boarded by a Malian national in the night of Sunday to Monday in Bujumbura International Airport (photo). The full identity of the Malian trafficker however, was not revealed by Mr. Maniratunga, which sent a stern warning to those who engage in this kind of illegal activity. Ivory seizures are common in Burundi, which lost its last elephant nature reserves in 2004 according to environmentalists in the Burundian capital. By contrast, nature reserves and other dense forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Tanzania today house a few more of these species, protected by international agreements to prevent their disappearance and complete extinction. The Bujumbura International Airport also recorded last year the trafficking of unusual objects, such as the Italian national who was trying to take out a dozen human skulls to Asia. More conventionally, trafficking in minerals and drugs are regularly reported to both the inlet and outlet of the Bujumbura International Airport, which is at the heart of a sub-Great Lakes region rich in natural resources. RELATED STORY Entering 9 kg of ivory at Bujumbura International Airport (Burundi) Arib Info October 27, 2014 Burundian police seized on Sunday night 9 kg of ivory at the international airport of Bujumbura, in the luggage of a Malian national departing aboard Kenya Airways, the Civil Aviation Authority in Burundi (AACB) announced Monday. “The Malian national was caught by our security services that were super vigilant after a rather special meeting that I convened to fight against this kind of traffic as these traffickers always have networks to pass through the cracks,” the director general of the AACB, Albert Maniratunga told the press. He warned those who hold the prohibited products: “Burundian police and Burundian law are here to punish them very seriously,” adding that measures have been taken to strengthen the technical control and safety technology. Mr. Maniratunga recalled that recently 300 kg of ivory seized in Malaysia came from Burundi. http://www.arib.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10256&Itemid=76