Two people are in police custody in Machakos after being arrested with elephant tusks weighing 12 kilogrammes and estimated to be worth Sh1.2 million. The suspects were intercepted while allegedly transporting the ivory on a motorcycle during a multi-agency operation in the county.
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Machakos County officer-in-charge Ismael Kiprop said the authorities believe the tusks were being taken to an undisclosed location within Machakos. Kiprop said the county has increasingly become a route for the illegal trafficking of wildlife trophies, warning residents against participating in the trade. He said the two suspects will be prosecuted once investigations are completed.
The latest arrests bring to at least 10 the number of people apprehended in Machakos over wildlife-related offences in the past one-and-a-half months. Eight of the suspects were arrested over alleged trafficking of wildlife trophies, while two others were found in possession of bushmeat. Kiprop added that an earlier operation in the county resulted in the recovery of 13 kilogrammes of wildlife trophies valued at about Sh1.3 million.
The two suspects are being held at Machakos Police Station and are expected to be arraigned at the Machakos Law Courts.
