4 traffickers arrested with thousands of seahorses

4 traffickers arrested in Conakry with thousands of seahorses weighing 41kg and some shark fins in a crackdown on a criminal network stretching over 5 countries.This criminal network has been trafficking seahorses for the past four decades evolving into a vast cross-border network stretching across West Africa, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, and Senegal. They were trading with Chinese nationals who according to the traffickers, export the seahorses through organized channels of corruption and bribery, allowing massive quantities of protected marine species to leave the region illegally each year.All seahorse species are protected under the CITES UN convention, yet they are under serious threat by the global illegal trade. A recent study shows the alarming scope of the illegal seahorse trade with 16 species facing the risk of extinction.The dried seahorses are used in the “traditional medicine” business in China.