Police arrest 4 suspects with 6.8kg cache of elephant tusks in anti-ivory raid » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 13 – Police in Makindu have arrested four suspects holding 6.8 kilograms of elephant tusks valued at Sh2 million.

Officers from Makindu Police Station in Makueni netted the suspects in a joint raid with their counterparts from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) on Tuesday.

The team recovered six pieces of ivory.

The National Police Service (NPS) identified the suspects as Stephen Kitavi (34), Peter Kioko (39), Kyalo Muange (47), and Danstan Kisyoka (54) in a statement on Wednesday.

NPS said the team in Makindu booked the suspects at Makindu Police Station ahead of arraignment in court later on Wednesday.

The Police Service commended members of the public for their cooperation in making the operation a success.

Sustained war

The arrest comes months after a similar anti-ivory raid in Embu led to the recovery of three pieces of elephant tusks, collectively weighing approximately 53 kilograms.

Following the September 2023 operation, NPS announced the arrest of two suspects.

The police placed the estimated value of the consignment at Sh10.6 million.

Kenya has maintained an anti-ivory policy as part of its commitment to wildlife conservation and is part of a global alliance cooperating in the fight against ivory trade.

The Wildlife Conservation and Management Act (2013) prohibits the possession of wildlife trophies and the manufacturing of trophies.

Section 95 of the Act provides: “Any person who keeps or is found in Possession of a wildlife trophy or deals in a wildlife trophy, or manufactures any item from a trophy without a permit issued under this Act or exempted in accordance with any other provision of this Act, commits an offence and shall be liable upon conviction to a fine of not less than one million shillings or imprisonment for a term of not less than five years or to both such imprisonment and fine.”

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