‘Conflict timber’: Gambian traffickers continue rosewood trade despite ban

The port in Banjul, The Gambia, where rosewood from Senegal is being exported by traffickers who say the trade is alive and well despite a ban [Andrei Popoviciu/Al Jazeera]

Banjul, The Gambia — On a warm May day at a restaurant on the outskirts of Banjul, Lamin (last name withheld) outlined his plan to traffic rosewood timber from Senegal to The Gambia as he cleaned the meat off his chicken drumsticks.

“All of this has to be secret,” he whispered, trying to be reassuring about his almost decade-long experience in the illicit trade.