Six Suspected Ivory Dealers Charged in Voi Court

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Historical: Ivory burning at the Nairobi National Park in 1989

Six suspected ivory dealers were on October  26, 2009  charged with illegal trade and possession of elephant tusks before a Voi court. The suspects were remanded until Wednesday  28, 2009 when they will appear again before Voi Resident Magistrate Linus Nyakundi for hearing.

The four men and two women were arrested with illegal elephant tusks weighing 82 kg in Voi Town by Kenya Wildlife Service security officials on Saturday 24, 2009. 

KWS security officials smashed the syndicate of ivory dealers when they got information from the public about the criminal activities of two different groups of poachers.  The first group was caught with four pieces of elephant tusks weighing 52 kg while the second had 13 pieces weighing 30 kg.

This new development is a breakthrough in efforts to stamp out poaching in Tsavo. At the same time, the recovery of the ivory is a major tragedy to wildlife conservation given the devastation elephants and other wild animals have endured in the just ending drought.