Canadian art dealer gets 5 years for ivory smuggling

15/08/2008 23:43:50 August 2008. Tania Julie Siyam, a 32-year-old Canadian art dealer, has been sentenced to serve 60 months in prison and pay a $100,000 fine for illegally smuggling ivory from Cameroon to the United States. The sentence follows a long running international investigation by special agents of the U.S, Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife officials from Environment Canada and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland, Ohio. Siyam plead guilty in a U.S. District Court to four federal felony charges.

Tania Siyam originally operated art import and export businesses in Montreal, Canada, and Cameroon that were fronts for smuggling products from endangered and protected wildlife species, including raw elephant ivory.

Ivory imported from Cameroon
In summer 2002, Siyam moved her base of operation from Canada, to Cameroon, where her family is originally from. In Cameroon, Siyam orchestrated a sophisticated scheme to smuggle illegal wildlife products by soliciting local artists and craftsmen, operatives within international commercial shipping companies, contacts in the illegal ivory trade, a partner in Canada, a partner in the United States, and, with the assistance of her father, Alphonse Siyam Siwe, the General Manager of Ports in Cameroon from 1998-2005.

Internet sales
As part of her scheme, Siyam operated numerous Internet-based art businesses out of Canada, and Cameroon; and, used other telecommunications to advertise, and sell regulated and protected wildlife products to customers throughout the world

In fall 2002, special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Environment Canada wildlife officials were alerted by concerned citizens that endangered species, including raw elephant ivory, were being advertised for sale on the Internet. Further investigation identified Siyam as the central person involved in the scheme.

Ivory hidden inside pottery
During November 2002, with the assistance of a local Ohio business owner, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service special agents were able to purchase a shipment of illegal raw elephant ivory from Siyam. The raw ivory tusks were concealed inside pottery, labeled as art, and sent by international courier from Cameroon, to Montreal, Canada. Once in Canada, the goods were repackaged and shipped by Siyam's Canadian partner, via the Canadian and U.S. Postal Service, to the Ohio business address.

During December 2003, the cooperating Ohio business owner, working with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service special agents, made a second purchase of 125 pounds of illegal raw elephant ivory. Siyam, again operating from Cameroon, shipped the raw elephant ivory by international courier directly to the cooperating Ohio business owner's address. The shipment consisted of three wooden crates, with the raw ivory concealed inside terra cotta flower pots packaged within each crate.

Also in 2003, additional shipments of ivory were sent to other customers, including U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service special agents in New York. Raw Elephant tusks, and elephant ivory carvings, were again concealed inside pottery and declared as art.

At least 21 African elephants
By the end of 2003, sufficient evidence had been obtained to charge Siyam with multiple felony Lacey Act and smuggling violations. The two elephant ivory shipments to Ohio were valued together at more than $158,000 and included parts from at least 21 African elephants.

Central African elephant populations down by 75%
Wild populations of African elephants within central Africa (Cameroon, Gabon and the Congo), the main source of elephant ivory, have dropped by approximately 75 percent in the last 40 years. The main cause for this decline in populations is believed to be the illegal hunting of elephants for the international ivory trade, and for bush meat, which is a lucrative by-product of the illegal ivory trade.

The unauthorized importation and commercialization of African and Asian elephant products including the raw elephant ivory tusks are violations of the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Both the United States and Canada are members of CITES, which regulates, and strictly controls worldwide trade in endangered and threatened species, and prohibits the illegal trade in parts of protected wildlife species such as the Asian and African elephants. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other law enforcement agencies in the 172 CITES member countries work closely together to stop the illegal trade of endangered/protected plants and animals.