Harare – With Zimbabwe’s elephant cyanide poisonings still firmly in the spotlight, the state wildlife authority said on Monday it had intercepted a haul of ivory worth $43 250 (R592 000) at the Harare International Airport this weekend.
Spokesperson Caroline Washaya-Moyo said: “We are happy that our system was able to detect the smuggled goods. We further commend our investigating teams for being alert.”
The news comes after the discovery of 40 elephants poisoned with cyanide in Hwange and Kariba in the last few weeks. The elephants died in separate poisoning incidents and some of them had their tusks missing.
There is no indication yet who the three Zimbabweans are or if the ivory recovered this weekend is connected to the poisonings.
Three weeks ago, three employees of the wildlife authority were arrested after ivory was discovered at Harare International Airport.
There has been no report of anyone being imprisoned so far specifically for poisoning the elephants. Three people have, however, been imprisoned in Kariba for illegally possessing or dealing in cyanide, according to the Kariba Animal Welfare Trust.