Man arrested after being found with animal trophies in Nairobi

(Photo: Courtesy)

Police are holding a businessman after he was found with animal trophies valued at millions of shillings in Parklands.

The suspect had in his possession lion, buffalo, cheetah, hyena, leopard and other wild animal skins at the time of his arrest by officials from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Kenya Wildlife Service. Police say they are yet to know the source of the skins and investigations are ongoing.

Police say there has been an increase in illegal animal trophies despite efforts to tame the trend. And as part of the campaign to stop killing of animals, security agencies have arrested 10 suspects and seized more than 200 kilos of ivory and 96kg of pangolin scales in a joint operation targeting wildlife trophy dealers and known poachers.

The suspects have featured in the KWS list of wanted persons. Also seized were several kilos of rhino horns. The ivory was all headed for Asia where there is ready market. All the suspects are facing charges in court. The latest arrest was on June 27 when six men were arrested after they were found with 216kg of ivory valued at about Sh21 million in a house in Utawala.

Hong Kong

Those caught with the tusks told police they were headed for Hong Kong where the owners had paid for their shipment. Among those nabbed was Abdinur Ibrahim Ali, a businessman based in Moyale. Police investigations show he works with Guinean nationals based in Uganda as well as Chinese buyers abroad. The ivory he was found with in Utawala had been sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo, police investigations show.

The other suspect was identified as Ahmed Mohamud Salah alias Ahmed Mahabub Gedi, who is a Somali national with fraudulently acquired Kenyan documents. He is reported to be the link person between Kenyan ivory traders and the far eastern markets of China and Thailand.

He was arrested by police at the Kenya-Namanga border on Saturday July 1, 2017 as he attempted to flee the country.

The wildlife service also singled out two notorious rhino poachers who have repeatedly sneaked into conservancies in the Mountain Conservation Area, to harvest rhino horns.