Ivory poachers nabbed
2003-07-18 19:33
Malawi - In a crackdown on poaching, Malawi police arrested three men on Friday on suspicion of being connected to an illegal ivory trafficking cartel, police said.
Stanford Juma, 52, Wasili Chitumba, 22 and Stanley Kamtengeni, 30, were found in possession of a total of 60 pieces of ivory.
Police spokesperson George Chikowi said the men appeared to be smuggling ivory to Asia, where the material, which comes from elephant tusks, is in high demand.
Trade in ivory is strictly controlled by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, an agreement Malawi has signed.
The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency reported last year that the hub of a large smuggling syndicate was in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, where poached tusks from Zambia and other southern African countries were gathered and packed for shipping.
- SAPA