According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, armed groups have been active in Cameroon’s national parks and forest areas for the past two decades, and these groups have poached rare animal species to finance their activities. The Bouba Ndjida National Park, which is located close to Cameroon’s borders with Chad and the Central African Republic, is home to many important biodiverse species, and has also experienced high levels of poaching. The elephant population, for example, has significantly diminished following acts of poaching orchestrated by cross-border criminal groups. In 2020, a new armed separatist group called the MLC was established in the tri-border area between Cameroon, Chad, and the Central African Republic, and members of the group have been involved in clashes with the military near the national park. One of the MLC members who was arrested confessed that the illicit trade in animal products sourced from Bouba Njida is a temporary means of financing while they try to establish other income sources.