Two Arrested With Elephant Tusks In Bungoma


Two suspected traffickers were Saturday June 14 arrested with two elephant tusks valued at Sh1 million in Chaptais area, Bungoma County.

Police in collaboration with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers from Kitale, acted on intelligence and apprehended two suspects at Cheptais-Kipsis Junction.

The suspects were intercepted while transporting the two elephant tusks concealed in a blue sack on a motorcycle.

It is not clear where the two had gotten the tusks.

This shows an elephant had been killed by poachers probably in the area.

It comes amid a campaign to address the poaching menace.

The suspects were expected to face charges of being in Possession of Wildlife Trophies of Endangered Species Contrary to Section 92(4) of the Wildlife Conservation Management Act 2013.

Elephant tusks fetch a fortune in the black market as a surge in demand for ivory in the East continues to fuel the illicit trade in elephant tusks, especially from Africa.

The illegal ivory trade is mostly fuelled by demand in Asia and the Middle East, where elephant tusks and rhino horns are used to make ornaments and traditional medicines.

Officials say despite a ban on the international trade in ivory, African elephants are still being poached in large numbers.

As part of efforts to stop the menace, Kenya has started using high-tech surveillance equipment, including drones, to track poachers and keep tabs on elephants and rhinos.

READ, ALSO;

CCTV Footage Captures Moments Ojwang’s Body Arrived At Mbagathi Hospital

Email your news TIPS to Editor@eaglenewsfeed.com — this is our only official communication channel