Editor’s note, November 2026
In June 2014 a court in Lomé convicted N’bouke of ivory trafficking and sentenced him to two years in prison, of which he was to serve 15 months, and a fine of US$10,300. See “Black market ivory: N’bouke jailed”.
Early in 2013, Julian Rademeyer, the author of Killing for Profit – Exposing the illegal rhino horn trade, went undercover in the West African country of Togo. His job was to track down an ivory poaching kingpin.
Working closely with Ofir Drori, director of the wildlife crime investigation NGO, LAGA, he posed as a wildlife dealer to obtain hidden camera footage of an ivory trafficking operation. The man at its helm was Emile N’bouke. The other ivory traders called him “The Boss”. Well-protected and politically well-connected, he seemed untouchable. ABC Nightline’s Bill Weir joined the hunt…
UPDATE: Emile N’bouke was arrested on 6 August, 2013. According to a BBC News report, investigators found 700kg of ivory in his shop in the country’s capital, Lome.
Togo has emerged as a key entrepôt in the illegal ivory trade. In July 2013, customs officials in Hong Kong seized more than two tonnes of elephant tusks worth $2.2m (£1.6m) hidden in cargo from Togo.
Togo’s Environment Minister Dede Ahoefa Ekoue said the arrest of N’bouke proved the country was taking the problem of ivory trafficking seriously. ”I am proud… that Togo is showing the world that… we are going to continue this fight against the dealers who are destroying our natural resources,” she told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme.
After his arrest, a number of journalists were allowed to question N’bouke, 58, at police headquarters. He said that his main clients were in China, and he had imported ivory with permits from Chad since 1983, when it was legal to do so. But, he claimed, that since recent treaties preventing the trade in ivory he had only exported handicrafts made from bones. An Associated Press report (archived link), however, quoted N’bouke saying that he had managed to obtain and renew a “special permit” to sell ivory despite Togo’s 2008 ban on trade.
The Environment Minister says N’bouke’s claim about a permit is untrue.
Speaking to Associated Press (archived link) after his arrest, N’bouke said that he was a “victim of injustice” in a misguided crackdown and claimed that he had in fact been trying to help Togolese officials identify “the real ivory traffickers” in the country.
“During our last meeting three or four weeks ago, I informed the authorities that most people who work in ivory and who traffic ivory without the right papers are Guineans,” N’bouke said. It is understood that at least one Guinean national has been arrested.
Drori describes N’bouke as the “godfather of ivory trafficking in Togo” (archived link). “If you can imagine this activity multiplied by nearly 40 years of work, 40 years of contacts, 40 years of criminal activity, you can imagine that this person alone is in charge of the slaughter of dozens of thousands of elephants.”
In a statement released on 8 August, 2013, the US State Department commended the Togolese authorities for the raid and said the arrest “represents an important step in protecting valuable African wildlife and investigating criminal organisations”.
“We urge Togolese authorities to conduct a full investigation and hold accountable to the fullest extent of the law those who engaged in the trafficking of ivory.”
It remains to be seen whether N’bouke will stand trial and whether he will be convicted. Even if he is found guilty, Togo’s wildlife protection laws are shockingly lax. According to the BBC correspondent in Lome, N’bouke faces between ten months and three years prison.
Archived from killingforprofit.com/2013/08/06/black-market-ivory-the-hunt-for-the-boss/ · Archived copy, Wayback Machine