Uganda’s UN-supported wildlife forensics lab turns ivory seizures into convictions

The package originated in Entebbe, Uganda, bound for Cairo, containing 10 kilograms of thumb-sized pieces that could have been either bone or elephant ivory.When detectives from the Uganda Police Force and investigators from the Uganda Wildlife Authority intercepted the package in January 2025, they needed more than suspicion to investigate the person who sent the package.The police sent a sample to the Uganda Wildlife Forensics and Timber Laboratory in Entebbe, a facility that has been supported since 2019 by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).Scientists found a distinctive cross-hatched pattern associated with elephant ivory. DNA testing later confirmed that the material came from an elephant, lab manager Patrick Chiyo told UN News.© European UnionA lab technician carries out a test at the Uganda Wildlife Forensics and Timber Laboratory in Entebbe.Two months later, police arrested the man who sent the package. At his residence, investigators found additional elephant ivory, along with warthog ivory. He was charged with attempted trafficking and illegal possession and sentenced to 15 years in prison or a fine equivalent to 140 million Ugandan shillings – or more than $35,000...