Police seize 228 pieces of ivory in Mombasa

Police in Mombasa have confiscated 228 pieces of illegal ivory tusks at a warehouse in Tudor, Mombasa.

Mombasa County Commissioner Nelson Marwa and Kenya Wildlife Service assistant director Coast region conservancy Mr Arthur Tuda said they got a tipoff over the consignment from a member of the public Wednesday night.

They then raided the premises where they impounded the ivory, 74 of which were small tusks estimated to be five kilogrammes each. The estimated average weight of the rest of the ivory tusks is 10 kilogrammes.

Mr Marwa said they have arrested a suspect, Abdul Halim Sadik, 25, from Lamu County in connection with the ivory haul and a manhunt launched for two other suspects still at large.

He said the consignment is linked to terrorism, radicalisation and drug barons in Mombasa.

The ivory is said to come from various parks within Kenya and from outside the country.

The KWS assistant director said the colouration of the tusks emphasised that they are from two different sources, from Savanna and the Congo forest.

He said the confiscated ivory indicated an estimated 100 elephants were killed.

Mr Tuda said government efforts had helped contain the rate of poaching, noting that they were now mostly handling dealers attempting to smuggle ivory out of the country.