Police net 200 tusks in ivory haul

Published on 01/11/2012 00:00

Tanzanian police have seized more than 200 elephant tusks hidden in a coffin and in fertiliser bags, pointing to rising poaching in the east African country.

“This is the biggest seizure of elephant tusks in Dar es Salaam in recent history. The tusks were really big, which means they were carefully picked for certain customers,” said regional police commander Suleiman Kova.

In recent years, poaching has become a curse in Tanzania and other sub-Saharan African countries that attract tourists to view the rich wildlife in their game reserves.

Well-armed criminals kill elephants and rhinos for their tusks, which are used for ornaments and in some folk medicines. Police said the 214 tusks were worth about £820,000 and that at least three suspects had been arrested, including two Kenyans. The smugglers had planned to transport the ivory to Kenya, they said.

Most of the elephant tusks smuggled from the east African nation end up in Asian countries, according to police.

This month Hong Kong seized £2.2 million in elephant tusks and ornaments smuggled from Tanzania and Kenya, its biggest seizure of illegal ivory.