Description

62 pieces of elephant ivory weighing 255 kilograms have been seized at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) while being smuggled out of the country on Friday (September 14, 2012).

The tusks were packed in two metallic boxes, some of them were cut off in pieces, were declared as ‘avocadoes’. However, they were detected and seized by a joint security team comprising of the Kenya Airports Police Unit, the Kenya Revenue Authority (Customs Department) and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

The intercepted cargo was sprayed with pepper and tobacco to avoid detection by sniffer dogs.

Preliminary investigation reveals that the cargo (way bill number18636914) was destined for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, aboard Qatar Airways via Doha.

The owners of the shipment escaped the scene before being arrested. KWS and the Police are following the owners of the vehicle that had just delivered the cargo to a clearing company at the Nairobi based port.The origin of the seizure has not been established. Investigations into the contraband are on-going.