Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

72 tusks recovered at city home

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-Jul-06

THE police in Harare yesterday discovered 72 unprocessed tusks at Number 69
Coronation Avenue, Greendale, and arrested two Chinese nationals following a
tip off from the public.
Police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said
the names of the two suspects were being withheld as investigations were in
progress.
"We have since arrested two suspects, but we cannot disclose their
identities since investigations are still underway. We still have to verify
the case in terms of theft, illegal exporting and poaching allegations," he
said.
Bvudzijena said they suspected the duo connived with Zimbabweans.
The two suspects also operated a clothing company at the house.
The police suspect that the tusks could have either been stolen from one of
the national parks in the country or secured from poachers.
Of the tusks discovered, 59 tusks were already packed in wooden containers,
while 13 others were in separate rooms of the house.
Bvudzijena also said the tusks, whose weight range from 2 to13 kg, could
have been meant for export.
Four tankers allegedly belonging to Matson Leasing Company and two trucks
were also found at the house. The tankers have a maximum carrying capacity
of 30 tonnes each.
Bvudzijena said the police had solicited the assistance of the National
Parks and Wildlife Management and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) in
carrying out investigations.

Chinese culture is the most consumptive-oriented culture that I have seen. Conservation and social responsibility seem to be weak concepts at best in that culture. Even the concept that littering is bad for all is hard to get across.

Damn, 2-13 kg. They were aiding and abetting the slaughter of youngster ele's for bs. In all of Asia, they value the animal parts to a ridiculous degree. They're also the #1 buyer of illegal Rhino horns also.

Here´s some trivia: Rhino poaching has gone down since the introduction of Viagra!

At least that´s one of the salespitches for the abovementioned drug.

And it seems logical as the horn is mainly used as an aphrosidiac.

I can believe it as I havn't used rhino horn since Viagra came out. It's a lot cheeper!

465H&H

Last Updated: Friday, 8 July 2005
Probe of illegal raw ivory trafficking still on — police

Herald Reporter
POLICE in Harare are still investigating the case of two Asians they arrested in connection with illegal trafficking of raw ivory worth millions of dollars.

The two suspects were arrested on Monday and police recovered 72 tusks at their residence in Greendale.

Police chief spokesman Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said no further arrests had been made, but they were still looking for the other suspects believed to be Zimbabweans.

"No additional arrests were made, but we are still carrying out our investigations on the case," he said.

He said the raw ivory was taken by officials from the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, who are also assisting the police with investigations.

The suspects, who are still in police custody, are expected to appear in court facing charges under the National Parks and Wildlife Act.

Police yesterday said they had still not ascertained the destination of the ivory, which was discovered ready for export.

They found significant stockpiles of the ivory in loaded crates, some of which had been legally bought from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority’s national ivory warehouse.

Although only 10 tusks were registered, the remaining 62 were not, suggesting poaching gangs could have killed 31 elephants along the Zambezi Valley in the past year.

Of the 72 tusks with weights ranging between 2kg and 33kg, only 10 had serial numbers showing they were sold by the Parks authority to a particular dealer who then sold the unprocessed ivory to the Asians.

Some 13 pieces were hidden in a house while the other 59 were stashed in wooden boxes at Number 69 Coronation Avenue in Greendale, Harare.

The two suspects are believed to have been part of an intricate syndicate involved in the illegal export of ivory to unknown destinations.

The Parks authority also believes much of the unregistered ivory recovered could have been from animals slaughtered by poachers in the Zambezi Valley.

Thank you for the update Kathi. As always I appreciate your continued perseverance in keeping us informed about the stories the American press rarely chooses to follow.
Frank

East Asia has looted and raped their own natural resources. Eaten anything wild. Chopped down forests wholesale. Fished the fishes of the seas out of existence.

Most of these cultures have no concept of conservation for the future.

And worst of all, most of it always seems to keep the dongs of tired sad old men happy.

unfortunately that may be true about mainland chinese culture. Its a sad fact that theay aren't very caring about anything except themselves...mind you not all ethnic chinese are like that.

yours truly is very careful where he buys his seafood and his game thanks.......

tm

Ivory scam: Pair appears in court

Herald Reporter
TWO Chinese nationals believed to be part of an illegal ivory syndicate appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts yesterday.

Qinglin Zhang (59) and Cong Yuling (58), both of Greendale in Harare, were not asked to plead to three counts of contravening the Parks and Wildlife Act and one count of contravening the Firearms Act when they were arraigned before Harare magistrate Mrs Priscilla Chigumba.

Mrs Chigumba remanded them in custody to today when the court is expected to rule on their bail application.

In the bail application, the two said they were of fixed abode and they had substantial business interests in Zimbabwe which can guarantee their presence for trial.

They also submitted that they were holders of Zimbabwean permanent residence permits and have been staying in Harare for the past nine years.

If the court is inclined to grant them bail, the two said they were prepared to deposit $200 million as bail each and surrender travel documents.

However, the State, led by Ms Letween Rwodzi, opposed the application arguing that the accused were foreigners and the probability was high that they could abscond.

Ms Rwodzi said business investments could not be taken as weighing in favour of accused persons standing trial since the same could be used to facilitate trial evasion.

"The presumption of innocence must be balanced with the interests of justice. Investigations are still to be carried.

The police are yet to arrest and interview some people who might have participated in these deals," said Ms Rwodzi.

Allegations against the two are that between March 21 and July 5 this year, they bought 67 elephant tusks, which are classified as raw ivory, from one Lovemore Chikosha and Walter Mutsauri.

The sellers are holders of general dealers’ licences, which authorise them to sell manufactured ivory products but not raw ivory.

After buying the ivory, the State alleges that the pair attempted to export the elephant tusks.

Police only recovered the tusks when they had already been packaged for export in wooden crates.

It is also alleged that on an unknown date, Zhang and Yuling acquired five elephant tusks that were not registered.

The tusks were recovered when police searched their house.

While in the process of searching the pair’s Greendale residence, it is alleged, the police found a pistol and a rifle in Yuling’s bedroom.

Both firearms were unlicensed while the rifle was loaded with 12 rounds of ammunition. The recovered ivory is worth $353 600 000.

Is that a typo, 67 tusks being worth $353 600 000?
Especially from 2-13 kg?

Just wondering.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by Mark:
Is that a typo, 67 tusks being worth $353 600 000?
Especially from 2-13 kg?

Just wondering.

Mark

That's Zim dollars.

I wonder how far the investigation will go? Up the ladder to those higher up in the Zimbabwe government, including the kingpin himself perhaps?

No- these two got away with exporting ivory and elephant feet last year because their patron interviened on their behalf.

This year, Munangagwa is out of favour and no longer able to protect them. Actually 67 tusks are perfectly legal...but they had 60,000l of fuel in two tankers at their house that the police wanted and they were dumb enough not to have all their paper work in order. Legal ivory is so cheep in zim there is no need to buy the stuff off the street. Get a dealers licence (US$100 p/a) and buy your Ivory from Parks (US$25/kg).

Xu Peng is making a fortune exporting Hanko to china, selling the goods on the internet perfectly legally. CITES regs say up to 5 items of vale US$500 or less does not consitute a comercial shipment. Xu sends a hanko, pair of chopsticks etc to each customer. Retail not wholesale.