Vietnamese poacher nabbed with 30 kg of ivory ornaments

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport have seized thirty three kilogrammes of ivory ornaments worth over six million shillings from a Vietnamese national who was transiting through Kenya to Bangkok, Thailand. Thirty nine year old Nguyen Viet Truong who was traveling aboard a Kenya Airways flight KQ542 from Cotonou, Benin was arrested after a check by KRA Customs Surveillance and Targeting team noticed suspicious cargo in his two suitcases. Scanners revealed images of what was suspected to be ivory ornaments. When the suitcases were opened in the presence of KRA, police, Kenya Airways security and Kenya Airports Authority officials, 488 bangles painted various colors and weighing 33.6 kgs were discovered packaged in boxes labeled as flower vases were discovered. The Vietnamese national who had been scheduled to fly out of the country on the same day aboard KQ 886 flight was handed over to the police and is scheduled to appear in court to be charged with being in illegal possession of game trophies. He is among the many foreigners and Kenyans who have been arrested and arraigned in court to be charged with either illegal possession of game trophies or poaching. Source: The Star, Nairobi