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Reptiles `exporter` bolts at JK Airport
2007-01-25 10:24:03
By Peter Tindwa
An escaping millipede has forced an illegal exporter of reptiles in Dar es Salaam to abandon his cargo worth over 3.5m/- at the Julius Nyerere International Airport that was due to be flown to Germany on Tuesday morning.
Buibui Investments Company executive director Kessy Mwaipopo told The Guardian in Dar es Salaam Tuesday evening said that the unidentified exporter was masquerading as the owner of his company while he was not.
``A millipede rolled out of a roped bag after, apparently breaking through the box it was kept in, and moved right to the flight floor.
There it was noticed by a member of the British Airways flight crew, who ordered the exporter to collect his cargo for repacking,`` explained Mwaipopo.
He said he received a telephone call from a friend at the airport asking him to rush there to collect his cargo for repacking, adding that he was surprised to hear that his cargo containing reptiles could not be transported by the BA plane ``because I had no such cargo``.
Mwaipopo explained that upon arriving at the airport, he confirmed that not only was the cargo in question not his but also he was not even familiar with the sender of the consignment and the consignee in Dielheim, Germany, who was identified only as Peter.
According to Mwaipopo, the purported exporter of the strange cargo used forged headed letters of his company (Buibui) to fulfil exportation conditions.
``After examining the abandoned cargo, I came to realise that the consignment bore no export permit stamp. But I was allowed to collect the abandoned cargo from the airport before leaving it under police custody at the Oysterbay Police Station in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday night,`` he explained.
He hinted the mystery exporter might be without a Trophy Dealer Licence that would enable him to export reptiles from Tanzania.
He also said he was informed by an American citizen he would not name that there was a bogus trader using Buibui Investments Company`s name to export reptiles illegally.
``I asked the American to furnish me with documents regarding the dirty business under my company`s name. He gave me all documents, including photocopies on 7,800 US dollars sent to the bogus exporter through Western Union Bank,`` Mwaipopo said.
Apart from millipedes, the abandoned cargo contained an assortment of scorpions, snakes, tortoises and lizards, he added.
Records show that Tanzania has at least 600 companies engaged in the exportation of reptiles.
Contacted for comment in the city yesterday, Kinondoni Regional Police Commander Jamal Rwambow said his office was yet to get information on the matter, promising to make a close follow-up.
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