{"id":129493,"date":"2026-01-26T06:02:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T06:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/2-arrested-as-police-seize-110kg-of-elephant-tusks-in-namanga\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T06:02:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T06:02:54","slug":"2-arrested-as-police-seize-110kg-of-elephant-tusks-in-namanga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/2-arrested-as-police-seize-110kg-of-elephant-tusks-in-namanga\/","title":{"rendered":"2 arrested as police seize 110kg of elephant tusks in Namanga"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 26 \u2014 Detectives have arrested two suspected wildlife traffickers and seized elephant tusks valued at approximately Sh11 million following a covert sting operation in Namanga, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said on Sunday.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>DCI said a multi-agency team comprising officers from the National Police Service (NPS) and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) acted on intelligence to disrupt a suspected illegal wildlife trade deal at Mufassa Hotel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFollowing a trail of intelligence leads, the team launched a covert operation at Mufassa Hotel, where the traffickers were believed to be closing in on a shadowy deal with a prospective buyer,\u201d the DCI said.<\/p>\n<p>Officers encountered three suspects at the hotel: Tanzanian nationals Imani Manasi Msumbwa and Justin Mwalima, and a Kenyan, Alton Jilaoneka.<\/p>\n<p>However, one of the suspects, Justin Mwalima, managed to flee as officers moved in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a twist of fate, Justin Mwalima made a daring escape at the first sign of trouble,\u201d the DCI said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/news\/files\/2026\/01\/G_fmWNKXUAAO6JK.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/news\/files\/2026\/01\/G_fmWNLXgAAYNoZ.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/news\/files\/2026\/01\/G_fmWNRWMAAitb0.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">20 pieces <\/h2>\n<p>DCI arrested the remaining two suspects at the scene and later led detectives to their parked vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>A search of a Toyota Mark X, registration number T476 DHS, uncovered 20 pieces of elephant tusks weighing a total of 110 kilograms concealed in the boot.<\/p>\n<p>Further inspection of the vehicle revealed a weighing machine, suggesting a well-coordinated trafficking operation.<\/p>\n<p>DCI agents escorted two suspects to Namanga Police Station alongside the impounded vehicles and recovered exhibits for processing ahead of their arraignment in court. <\/p>\n<p>Police said efforts are ongoing to trace and arrest the suspect who escaped.<\/p>\n<p>The DCI said the interception underscored the government\u2019s commitment to combating wildlife trafficking through intelligence-led operations and close collaboration between security agencies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis interception serves as a powerful reminder of the Government\u2019s commitment to combating wildlife trafficking through robust multi-agency collaboration and intelligence-led operations to protect our natural resources and endangered species,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 26 \u2014 Detectives have arrested two suspected wildlife traffickers and seized elephant tusks valued at approximately Sh11 million following a covert sting operation in Namanga, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said on Sunday. DCI said a multi-agency team comprising officers from the National Police Service (NPS) and the Kenya Wildlife Service [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129493\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}