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Mozambican police have arrested a person trying to sell four elephant tusks in Mágoè, Tete province, central Mozambique, a source from the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) has said. "This is an arrest in flagrante delicto, which occurred in Mágoè district, where this individual was in possession of four ivory tips, weighing approximately 22 kilograms," Sernic spokesperson in Tete, Celina Roque, told media.

Police in Mozambique yesterday arrested a man who was trying to sell elephant tusks in the city of Pemba, Cabo Delgado province, in the north of the country. The 40-year-old man was caught trying to sell the tusks for 2,000 meticais (€28) per kilogram in the Metula neighbourhood of the provincial capital, police spokesperson Eugénia Nhamússua told the media today. "We are processing the report to legalise his arrest, for subsequent steps," she explained.

Trafficking of pangolin scales and ivory from Africa to Asia has dropped sharply and consistently since 2020, according to a Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) report released Wednesday, signaling a major shift in global smuggling networks. The report, "Disruption and Disarray: An analysis of pangolin scale and ivory trafficking, 2015 - 2024," links the decline to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on global transport and sustained law enforcement pressure, including arrests of high-level traffickers and disrupted supply chains in Africa.

The general director of Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC), Pejul Calenga, believes that poaching in the country is now virtually under control. "10 or 15 years ago, we were losing between 1,000 and 1,500 elephants every year", said Calenga, interviewed by Radio Mozambique on Monday. "But currently the losses are less than 100 a year". He added that, in some conservation areas, there had been no deaths at all of elephants at the hands of poachers for two consecutive years.

Mozambique's National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) on Wednesday detained two individuals, in Beira city, in the central province of Sofala, who were caught redhanded in the possession of elephant tusks that they were trying to sell.

The Nkayi Rural District Council has been urged to tighten its monitoring systems to stop the illegal harvesting of timber by companies as the natural resource is not benefiting local communities. Nkayi South Member of Parliament Jabulani Hadebe said there were no mechanisms in place to protect natural resources in the Matabeleland North district.

Mozambique's National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) has arrested two people in Moatize district, in the central province of Tete, for attempting to sell a pangolin.

A 26-year-old gold panner from village 8, Inyathi, Matabeleland North province has appeared at the Bulawayo Magistrates Courts for killing a kudu valued at US$1 500.

Two Zimbabweans, who were recently arrested for illegal possession of a pangolin and illegally entering Botswana, have been jailed four years each.

Three Bulawayo residents have been dragged to court over illegal possession of a pangolin worth US$5 000.

A 40-year-old man has been arrested in possession of a leopard skull and skin, the National Criminal Investigation Service of Mozambique (Sernic) has announced. "The man was caught red-handed on April 22," Sernic spokesman Alfeu Sitoe said at a press conference in the city of Beira. The suspect claimed to have received the product from a friend, now a fugitive, who intended to sell it to a foreigner in Beira’s Alto da Manga neighbourhood for 60,000 meticais (€856).

A 38-year-old citizen is currently detained in the city of Beira, Sofala province, accused of killing and possession of prohibited species. At the time of his arrest, the suspect had four lion teeth and 14 lion claws in his possession.

There is a resurgence of poaching activities targeting rhinos at Matobo National Park, which threatens to reverse gains made over the years to protect the endangered species. Matobo National Park in Matabeleland South has one of the highest rhino populations in the country. Six poaching incidents have been reported at the game reserve this year, according to Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) Matabeleland South regional manager Midwell Kapesa. Zimbabwe holds the fourth largest population of rhinos in Africa with 616 black rhinos and 417 white…

Over 230 poachers were arrested, and over 300 firearms seized, between 2016 and 2021, in the Zinave National Park in Mozambique, the manager of the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) said on Monday.