3-mob.com 
A police officer and a Hwange National Parks ranger have been arrested after they were caught with 28kg of unmarked raw ivory.
Simibio Kakomo (38) who is employed by the Hwange National Parks as a Ranger, Sheperd Musiniwa (31) of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and Ernest Kabanda (44), were arraigned before the Harare Magistrates Court on charges of unlawful possession of unmarked raw ivory.
The State told the court that on the 4th of April 2022 the Police received information to the effect that the accused persons were in possession of elephant tusks and were looking for buyers. Acting on the tip-off, the Police pretended to be potential buyers and met with the third accused person in the Central Business District of Harare.
The accused person led the Police to Kamfinsa Shopping Center where the first and second accused persons were waiting with the ivory.
They negotiated on a price until they reached an agreement whereupon the first and second accused persons went into a nearby building and returned with a greenish sleeping bag which contained eight pieces of unmarked ivory.
The Police revealed their identity to the accused persons and asked for the permit which authorized them to possess the ivory. The accused persons did not have any such permit, leading to their arrest.
The recovered ivory weighed 28.35kg valued at USD4,819.50.
Musimiwa and Kabanda were sentenced to 9 years imprisonment whilst the first accused person (Kakomo) is on a warrant of arrest for defaulting judgement.
National Prosecuting Authority Zimbabwe
Comments
Loading…