BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
Police in Hwange have arrested two men for possession of four pieces of raw ivory.
The accused Cephas Charumbira and Dickson Munkombwa were arrested last week following a tip-off that the two were in possession of four tusks measuring up to 75 centimeters.
“On 30/03/23, Police in Hwange acted on a tip-off and arrested Cephas Charumbira (40) and Dickson Munkombwa (45) for a case of unlawful possession of raw unmarked ivory without a permit,” police said.
Detectives recovered four pieces of elephant ivory measuring approximately 2x75cm, 1x15cm, and 1x10cm from the suspects.”
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) says at least 36 armed poachers were arrested inside the national parks last year as the country still struggles to completely eradicate the wildlife related crimes.
Zimparks says atleast 36 elephants were either shot or poisoned inside the national parks.
A total of eleven rhinos were also poached.
A 2019 study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) showed that elephant ivory and rhino horns carry cultural significance and it is attractive apart from it being used for traditional purposes, mainly in the Asian countries.