Pair Arrested for ivory in 2AM bus raid (Zimbabwe) 

Author(s)

The Zimbabwe Daily 

Date Published

Police have arrested two men who were found in possession of 19 kilogrammes of elephant tusks worth almost $5 000 following a tip off in Kwekwe.

Obert Dhura (54) of Mlilo Village under Chief Nenyunga in Gokwe, and Masukutu Nyamayavo (23) of house number 20224 Katanga in Norton, appeared before Kwekwe Magistrate, Mr Ngoni Nduna, facing one count of possession of ivory without a licence or permit.

They were not asked to plead and were remanded to December 1 in custody. The two were advised to apply for bail at the High Court.

Prosecutor, Ms Yeukai Mugumba said on November 17 at around midnight, police officers received information that Dhura and Nyamayavo were aboard a Harare bound bus from Gokwe with four elephant tusks.

Acting on the information, Ms Mugumba said police officers went to Senderayi Bus terminus in Kwekwe and waited for the bus.

“At around 2AM, the bus arrived and the passengers were ordered to disembark with each carrying his or her luggage. The bus conductor opened up the rear left boot of the bus before Dhura took a green bag which he placed on the ground next to him before Nyamayavo came and placed an empty black bag on top of it in a bid to conceal the green bag,” she said.

The court heard that police searched the  green bag and discovered four pieces of elephant tusks. Ms Mugumba said the two were asked to produce a licence or permit for possessing the elephant tusks, but they failed to produce leading to their arrest.

She said a mobile digital scale was also found in Dhura’s pocket. The court heard that the recovered pieces of elephant tusks had a total weight of 19 095 kilogrammes with a combined value of $4 773.

 

http://www.thezimbabwedaily.com/news/94664-pair-arrested-for-ivory-in-2a-m-bus-raid.html