Police raid recovers elephant tusks worth Sh10 million
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Saturday recovered 100kgs of elephant tusks valued at about Sh 10 million in Nyandarua.
One suspect, 42-year-old David Ndegwa, was arrested during the raid. The suspect is currently being held in custody and he is expected to be arraigned in court on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, detectives have launched a man hunt for a second suspect who escaped.
100KGS of Elephant Tusk valued at about Ksh.10 Million was yesterday recovered in #Nyandarua by officers posing as customers. ONE suspect; 42-yr-old David NDEGWA arrested & in lawful custody-ONE escaped but is being sought. The arrest followed a tip-off from the Public|@kwskenya pic.twitter.com/haj4s1Y8st
— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) August 11, 2019
The operation was conducted by DCI detectives posing as customers following a tip-off from members of the public.
The recovery of the 100kg of elephant tusks comes as the world is preparing to mark World Elephant Day on 12th August.
The day is dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world’s elephants.
According to Defender of Wildlife, at the turn of the 20th century, there were a few million African elephants and about 100,000 Asian elephants.
Today, there are an estimated 450,000 to 700,000 African elephants and between 35,000 to 40,000 wild Asian elephants.