Mansur Mohamed Surur, a Kenyan national indicted in the U.S. for transnational wildlife trafficking and drug smuggling, was detained at Mombasa's Moi International Airport on August 2, 2020, after arriving on a private flight from Yemen.
Over 20 officers from Interpol, Anti-Narcotics, Anti-Terrorism, Kenya Wildlife Service, and Directorate of Criminal Investigations conducted the operation, targeting Surur and four others aboard the Skyward Express flight. The suspect, 60, had traveled to Mombasa for his birthday celebrations before being intercepted.
U.S. prosecutors allege Surur participated in a criminal network spanning East Africa and Southeast Asia, trafficking over 190kg of rhino horns and 10 tonnes of elephant ivory between 2012 and 2019. He faces charges including conspiracy to distribute heroin and money laundering, with the indictment citing transactions involving more than $750 million in illicit proceeds.
According to the Southern District of New York's 2019 indictment, Surur and associates met undercover agents in Kenya and Uganda to discuss rhino horn sales. In 2017, he offered 4.2kg of horns for $6.2 million, with photographic evidence of the contraband. A 2018 transaction involved $1.8 million in payments for a horn shipment intercepted by U.S. authorities.
Surur was transferred to Nairobi for potential extradition to New York, where he remains charged alongside three other suspects in a case spanning multiple African nations and U.S. markets.
