BY WANDILE TSHUMA
A Hwange court has sentenced four individuals to nine years imprisonment for the unlawful possession of raw ivory.
The conviction and sentencing of Wilson Chuma (43), Billiard Nyoni (29), Morris Mumpande (33), and Amos Mleya (44) was made possible by the swift action of the police, following a tip off.
In a statement issued by the National Prosecuting Authority, the four were arrested following a tipoff of February 3, that the accused persons were in possession of ivory and were seeking potential buyers.
Acting on this information, the police posed as buyers and arranged a meeting with the accused persons.
The meeting took place at the 355-kilometer peg along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road, where the accused persons showed the police two pieces of raw, unmarked ivory.
When asked to produce a permit authorizing their possession of the ivory, the accused persons failed to do so.
This led to their arrest and subsequent conviction on charges of unlawful possession of raw ivory last week.