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Two suspected poachers were at the weekend arrested while in possession of six pieces of elephant tusks in Tigania East, Meru county. They had wrapped the tusks weighing 18.5 kilos in four sacks when police and Kenya Wildlife Service officials intercepted them. Police said the two were nabbed at Muriamburi Junction Mulika area on July 18, as they transported the same to a potential buyer aboard a motorcycle. The suspects will be charged with being in possession of wildlife trophies of endangered species, contrary to Section 92(4) of the Wildlife Conservation Management Act 2013…

The police constable and a civilian had been arrested in Nairobi West and Eastleigh with the cargo on Sunday. They had tried to sell the trophies to Kenya Wildlife Service ocials who had posed as potential buyers.

Two men were on Tuesday arrested while trafficking 36 pieces of elephant tusks weighing 77 kilogrammes valued at Sh12 million in Maralal, Samburu county.

It has taken suspected succulent smugglers just a few years to yank out of the ground more than 1.5 million rare plants with a cumulative age of more than 44,000 years. And illegal trade in wild flora and fauna continues to rocket, authorities say.

Police said the four were found in possession of 19 pieces of the jumbo tusks. The tusks have a street value of Sh10 million.

Kenya's black rhino population has doubled from less than 400 in 1985 to 794 by the end of 2019. Kenya is home to the last remaining two Northern White Rhinos in the world. "But, the Northern White Rhinos are endangered. There are only two existing in the world that are only found at the Ol Pejeta conservancy. We are making sure the white rhinos are saved and we produce more. We must protect these animals," said Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala during a webinar commemorating World Rhino Day last month.

The four suspected poachers who were arrested on Saturday following a shoot-out with the police at Khorixas will remain in custody after the court denied them bail.

A man suspected of having travelled from Namibia was arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport on Friday in connection with 12 rhino horns found in express air parcels.

Three suspects were arrested on Tuesday evening at Tjova village in Kavango East after being found in possession of 13 elephant tusks by a joint police and ministry of environment patrol. Police spokesperson Kauna Shikwambi yesterday said police arrested a Namibian and two Angolans, aged 27, 42 and 50, respectively, during an intelligence-led investigation.

He was tending to his employer's cattle and not poaching, the suspected poacher shot and wounded by police on Wednesday at a farm in the Outjo district said yesterday.

A suspected poacher was shot and wounded by police yesterday at Farm Harrisy near Etosha National Park, bringing the number of those injured to two since December last year. Three others were shot dead at Bwabwata National Park last week following the invocation of the Criminal Procedure Act where police are instructed to shoot poachers in self-defence.

The poaching of rhinos and elephants in Namibia is not a crisis because only about 1,2% are poached per year, said environment minister Pohamba Shifeta.

Six people found carrying rifles in the Etosha National Park last week were arrested after a wounded rhino was found in the area.

A Chinese man was arrested on Wednesday in South Africa when he was found with 18 rhino horns worth R6,6 million which are suspected to have been smuggled from Namibia.

Government yesterday condemned the random shooting of Namibian citizens suspected of being poachers at the Botswana border, saying the authorities in that country are too quick to pull the trigger.

Yet another black rhino was poached in the Omatendeka Conservancy in Southern Kunene over the weekend, bringing the total number of poached rhinos in the country to 69 this year. The rhino is the fifth to be poached in the same area within a couple of months. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism confirmed yesterday that five people were arrested in connection with the incident after they were discovered with two rhino horns in their possession.

Ninety-five black rhinos and eight white rhinos have been poached in Namibia since 2005, the ministry of environment and tourism revealed yesterday. Minister of environment Pohamba Shifeta said this, when he revealed the outcome of tests conducted on the latest rhino and elephant carcasses discovered since 2014. 
Shifeta said over the last 10 years, 294 black rhinos died of natural causes, while 95 others were poached and seven others were killed for trophy hunting.