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Police arrest 6 after 41 elephants poisoned with cyanide
06 Sep 2013 at 18:55hrs | Views
Police say they arrested six men accused of killing 41 elephants with cyanide.
State media reported on Friday that police official Muyambirwa Muzzah said rangers followed the tracks in the southwestern Hwange National Park that led to several elephant carcasses.
Muzzah said a cache of tusks, worth $120 000 on the illegal ivory market, and other remains were found near water holes that had been laced with cyanide. He said the six were arrested when they returned to collect the ivory and they are suspected of operating from the western city of Bulawayo.
The police official said hundreds of wild animals feeding on the dead elephants could also die from poisoning.
The Bulawayo Chronicle newspaper reported on Friday that poachers arrested in May for poisoning wildlife were jailed for two years.
State media reported on Friday that police official Muyambirwa Muzzah said rangers followed the tracks in the southwestern Hwange National Park that led to several elephant carcasses.
The police official said hundreds of wild animals feeding on the dead elephants could also die from poisoning.
The Bulawayo Chronicle newspaper reported on Friday that poachers arrested in May for poisoning wildlife were jailed for two years.
Source - AP
