Thailand refuses to release ivory to Kenya for exhibit in court case

Thailand authorities in Bangkok have refused to release 511 raw elephant tusks worth Sh576 million to Kenyan prosecutors. The tusks are needed for the trial of a man, his two sons and two other suspects in Mombasa charged with trafficking ivory to the Asian nation.

A team of Kenyan officials, who went to Bangkok last month to try and secure the ivory, returned empty-handed after running into various legal hurdles in Thailand, throwing the trial set to resume on May 23 into limbo. But the Government said it had not given up and is still negotiating with Bangkok to return the consignment in fulfillment of a Mombasa court order last year.