Army spies take fight to rhino poachers

FORMER British specialist intelligence soldiers are using skills honed in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan to help tackle poachers of rhinos and elephants in Africa.

Retarius, a company using experience gained in counter-terrorist operations, delivers specialist training to law enforcement and antipoaching units in Cameroon, Benin and Zambia.

Employing former members of the UK intelligence community, the company seeks to help Rangers build up a picture of the poaching networks using informants and technical means.

“Our experience from tackling terrorist networks for the Army means we can help the anti-poaching effort,” said Stu Farrag, director of Retarius. “Of course, local rangers know their environment better than us. But we’re able to train them in discrete methods and specialist skills to make best use of their knowledge. The longterm success will be theirs; our background in the military gives them the tools.”

The Government an- nounced an extra £1million in aid for Malawi earlier this year, to help combat poaching, and British soldiers in the country have trained 120 park rangers.

Part of the extra funding went to the Wildlife Crimes Investigations and Intelligence Unit in Malawi, an initiative that has improved intelligence gathering markedly. Last year, 1,000kg of ivory were seized and 114 arrests made, a ten-fold increase in detentions compared to 2015.

The illegal wildlife trade is rated as the fourth most lucrative transnational organised crime in the world, behind people, drug and weapon smuggling.

The troops’ long-term goal will ensure the rangers are better able to respond appropriately to the threat of poaching, that has driven the decline in many African animals including elephants, rhinos and lions.

The Government has pledged £26million up to 2020 to help fight the illegal wildlife trade. Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, said: “We cannot sit idle while criminals hunt some of the planet’s most magnificent wildlife.”