Tanzanian sought over Sh570m ivory

A Tanzanian is being sought in connection with the Sh570 million ivory haul seized in Singapore last week.

Investigations show that the man is the mastermind, together with top Kenya Revenue Authority staff and government officials.

Also being sought are two brothers identified, who have been exporting 40-foot containers disguised as tea since last year.

“The prime suspects are still at large. However, efforts to locate them have been intensified,” said KRA Spokesperson Maureen Njongo.

The Tanzanian had rented a house in Nyali in Mombasa, where he has lived since 2013. However, the house agent told detectives the tenant had not given them any identification documents. He would pay his rent in cash and was never issued with receipts.

KRA has also written to Interpol and Singapore for assistance.

“Various agencies have been enlisted, including Interpol. Beyond Interpol, KRA has also written to our Singapore and Thailand counterparts, seeking information on the ongoing investigations,” said Ms Njongo.

SUSPECTED TO HAVE FLED

A senior police officer on Monday said the brothers are suspected to have fled to an unknown destination through Uganda.

“Their mobile phones were active and were last used at the Busia border. We, however, cannot rule out the possibility that they could be in the country,” he said.

The investigating team has, for the second time, interrogated staff at Siginon Freight, where it was established that the initial cargo, blended tea, was packed into 220 bags at its warehouses in Shimanzi, Mombasa, on April 19.

The two containers then left Siginon on April 19 and 20 and arrived at the port for loading onto the vessels Cape Moss and Cape Madrid, respectively.

On April 27 and May 19, the illegal consignments of ivory and rhino horns, were seized in Thailand and Singapore, respectively.

The exporting company, Potential Quality Services (PQS), linked to the two brothers on the run, made arrangements for the transport and it has been established that one of the brothers gave Siginon the blending instructions from the shipper, Almasi Chai (Kenya).

However, the documents releasing the containers were signed by his brother.

Two lorries, registration numbers KNY 944 and KSM 783, were also impounded at Mikindani and later taken to the Customs Warehouse.

KRA claims they do not have control over the containers once they are cleared by the Customs officials. As is procedure, KRA Customs export entries were done on behalf of Almasi Chai in the KRA online system.

The KRA later claimed the seizure was facilitated by an alert they issued to the Singaporean authorities on April 28.

“The alert pinpointed the two containers based on a profile of shipments exported around the same time when the first illegal shipment of ivory was made,” said KRA Commissioner-General John Njiraini.