Man charged with murder of Ranger after crocodile investigation

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor has charged a man with the murder of a government employee after a Royal Rangers Department officer was shot dead while investigating the illegal possession of a crocodile, official sources said. 

Criminal Court Prosecutor Salah Taleb also charged the suspect’s father, 62, with complicity in murdering a government employee, a senior judicial source said.

First Lt. Ibrahim Tihi Amre was part of a Ranger force that entered a shop on the First Circle in Jabal Amman posing as buyers, after a man posted an advertisement on social media a day earlier claiming that “he wanted to sell a rare crocodile”, the senior judicial source told The Jordan Times.

Amre and two other Rangers had offered to pay the suspect, who claimed he had the crocodile for three years, JD500 for the wild animal, the judicial source added.

When the three Rangers entered the shop in plain clothes, the source maintained, Amre asked the suspects to provide their identification cards.

“The suspect drew a gun and shot Amre in the chest. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival,” the source continued.

In his initial confessions to Taleb, the 27-year-old suspect claimed that he had no idea that the victim was a Ranger, according to the senior judicial source.

“The suspect claimed that the victim reached for his gun and the two fought over the weapon, and that a bullet was discharged, striking the victim in the chest,” the judicial source added.

However, the owner of the shop refuted these claims when questioned by the prosecutor, saying that “the suspect pulled a gun and shot the victim in the chest”, the judicial source maintained.

Taleb ordered that blood, tissue and other samples be taken from the suspects and the victim, and to be sent to the crime lab to look for gun residue and other evidence that could help the investigation, the judicial source added.

Police said in a statement that investigators seized the crocodile, estimated to be around 60cm in length, and the weapon reportedly found at the shop.

Taleb ordered the detention of both suspects at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigation, the senior judicial source said.

If convicted of the charges, the prime suspect could face life imprisonment, the judicial source explained.

The victim is survived by his wife and two children, a close friend told The Jordan Times.

He was laid to rest in his hometown of Jadaa in Karak, over 140km south of Amman, on Friday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

On Saturday, Interior Minister Ghaleb Zu’bi visited the condolences home for Amre in Karak and expressed his sympathies to his family. He also conveyed the government’s condolences, praising the Ranger for his dedication to his duty.

The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) declined to comment on the incident when contacted by The Jordan Times on Saturday.

An RCSN official told The Jordan Times that they will not comment on an ongoing investigation, but that “once investigations are over, we will issue a statement regarding this incident”.

Over the past few years, the RSCN has seized and confiscated several crocodiles, many of which are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Crocodiles, pythons and several other exotic species are usually smuggled into the country when they are babies.

CITES aims to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival, according to its website, which indicated that around 5,000 species of animals and 28,000 types of plants are protected against over-exploitation through international trade.