Harare – Zimbabwe police on Friday arrested four people for unlawfully possessing ivory weighing 237 kilogrammes in Harare.
”ZRP CID Minerals, Flora and Fauna, Harare, acted on a tip and arrested Masauso Nevhaya (48), Priscilla Chabata (52), Wonder Bozho (51) and Stanford Mbiriyakura (49) for unlawful possession of 41 pieces of ivory weighing 237 kgs,” the police said in a statement.
”The suspects, who were looking for potential buyers, were apprehended by detectives in Braeside along Seke Road, near Telecel Zimbabwe. Police recovered 35 elephant tusks, which were loaded in brown sacks in a Datsun Go vehicle.”
”Further, investigations led to the recovery of six more tusks.”
Police did not provide details of where the ivory came from.
Zimbabwe has one of the largest elephant population in southern Africa which is estimated to be around 80 000.
It is illegal to unlawfully possess ivory in Zimbabwe.
Trade in elephant tusks is banned across the world.
Zimbabwe has a huge stockpile of ivory worth US$600 million. The stockpile is from elephants that died of natural causes, some from those killed in human wildlife conflicts while the other ivory was recovered from arrested poachers.
Zimbabwe has been lobbying for a lift on ivory trade ban to sell it’s ivory.