Two police officers were at the weekend arrested while transporting elephant tusks weighing 49 kilograms and valued at Sh4.9 million in Kyumbi area, Machakos County.
The suspects were carrying eight pieces of elephant tusks in their private car when they were intercepted by Kenya Wildlife Service officers along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway Friday evening.
They had stopped near a petrol station to make a call to a potential buyer when they were nabbed, police said.
The two including a policewoman were from Mirangine police station and Karatina in Nyeri respectively.
They were in civilians then.
They were later collected to KWS headquarters for processing and further action.
Police said the incident shows some law enforcement agents are involved in crime.
Police said they will be charged with the offence of being in Possession of Wildlife Trophies of Endangered Species Contrary to Section 92(4) of the Wildlife Conservation Management Act 2013.
Officials said the seizure shows up to four elephants had been killed and there is a likelihood the incidents happened in the nearby Laikipia parks.
This is despite stringent measures in place to address the menace of poaching in the country and region.
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.
KWS and stakeholders have put in place mechanisms to eradicate all forms of wildlife crime, particularly poaching.
These mechanisms include enhanced community education, interagency collaboration, and intensive intelligence-led operations, among others.
These efforts led to zero rhino poaching in Kenya in 2020-the first time in about two decades.
On April 30, 2016, Kenya set ablaze 105 tones of elephant ivory and 1.35 tones of rhino horn.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta led world leaders and conservationists in burning the remains of 6,500 elephants and 450 rhinos killed for their tusks and horns.
Parliament has also passed strict anti-poaching laws and the government has beefed up security at parks to stop poaching, threatening the vital tourism industry.
Regionally, Kenya has also emerged as a major transit route for ivory destined for Asian markets from eastern and central Africa.
