Tanzania disowns tusks seized in Hong Kong

[nngu007]

Mon, Oct 22nd, 2012

Headlines / Tanzania |


Tanzanian wildlife authorities have disowned a consignment of elephant tusks seized in Hong Kong that were reported to have been shipped from the country.

Officials seized a total of 1,209 pieces of ivory tusk and 1.4 kilograms of ivory ornaments worth over £2million
​

The Wildlife Officer in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Mr Paul Sarakikya, said that such a consignment could not have been collected from Tanzania.Hong Kong authorities at the weekend reportedly confiscated US $3.4 million (nearly 6bn/-) worth of elephant tusks found in two containers.

The contraband weighed more than 8,000 pounds, making it one of the biggest ever seizure of ivory in Hong Kong.
He said that in most cases, the Dar es Salaam port could have been used simply as gateway by illegal ivory dealers who usually collect such "forbidden treasures" from as far as Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and other landlocked countries.

"Tanzania has succeeded in curbing elephant and other wildlife poaching to a great extent, it may be occurring as isolated cases, but such large consignment of ivories could not have been collected from the country," said Mr Sarakikya.

The Wildlife Officer, however, admitted that Tanzania's ports of entries, such as the Dar es Salaamharbour need to take greater care in screening containers from other countries being exported from the port because many of them could be carrying illegal goods including ivories.

The containers, according to Hong Kong Customs officials, had been shipped from Tanzania and Kenya. The agency seized a total of 1,209 pieces of ivory tusks and three pounds of ivory ornaments from the two containers.The reports have come when Tanzania has once again applied for a go-ahead to sell over 101,005kg of its ivory stockpile valued at over $55.5million (about 88.8bn/-) with a pledge that the money, if availed, would be used for anti-poaching operations.

The deputy minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Mr Lazaro Nyalandu confirmed recently that the government had reapplied to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) for the sale of its ivory stockpile.

Last weekend, the Police in Arusha region in association with Kilimanjaro National Park officials impounded a rifle said to have been smuggled from Kenya and arrested one person in connection with the incident.China has reportedly taken over Japan as the world's largest ivory consumer.

And from 2006 to 2012, the ivory price in China has tripled, causing some Chinese to buy ivory products in Africa with dollars and smuggle them back to China to sell for a better price.




By MARC NKWAME, Tanzania Daily News

 

[nngu007]

Whatever happened in HONG KONG, we RUN away from load worth about $ 3.4m

 

[Bongolander]

Whatever happened in HONG KONG, we RUN away from load worth about $ 3.4m

There has been about three or four posts about this issue. But it seems that people are pre occupied with events at home forgetting that evils that affect our country are still going on. I really wish that we get bottom of this and find out who did it, what is going on at our ports and who is to be held accountable with this. It is second or third time it is happening and nothing is has been done so far.

 

[BONGOLALA]

mzigo umetoka tanzania asibishe huyo!wanaosafirisha ofisi zao zipo Haidary plaza na millenium business park ubungo

 

[Maundumula]

Wabongo bana, yaani wanaona afadhali Tanzania ipoteze huo mzigo wa ivory kuliko wao kufukuzwa kazi kwa wizi au uzembe. Kweli sisi shamba la bibi.

 

[Bongolander]

mzigo umetoka tanzania asibishe huyo!wanaosafirisha ofisi zao zipo Haidary plaza na millenium business park ubungo

Mkuu nadhani baada ya siku kadhaa watu wataanza kufuatilia issue hii. Unajua jina la nchi linachafuliwa na heshima ya Tanzania inachafuliwa lakini bahati mbaya sana bado watu hawajaona ukubwa wa issue hii, sijui kama kuna yoyote ameuliza ni nini kimetokea.

 

[BabaDesi]

...Wanakataa kuwa Tanzania haihusiki kwa Sababu tu Wanataka Kulinda Ajira Zao. Kweli Sisi Ni Kichwa cha MwendaWazimu...!

 

[piper]

Ilikuwa lazima wakatae, m'bongo kwa ubishi nouma

 

[iMind]

Wanaotakiwa wawe held responsible ni maafisa wa bandari na kampuni iliyosafirisha mizigo.

Nivigumu kujua meno ya tembo yame originate wapi. Ila kwa jinsi idadi ya tembo inavyoendelea kuongezeka nafikiri ndo maana afisa wa wanyamapori anasema kuna uwekekano meno hayo yamekusanywa kutoka nchi mbalimbali zinazotuzunguka.

Mwisho wa siku kama nchi hakuna faida yoyote tutakayopata kwa kukubali kuwa meno hayo yametoka nchini. Sana sana ni kuendelea kuzuia uuzwaji wa shehena tuliyonayo.

 

[chash]

Bora kukubali yarejeshwe Tanzania. Ni faida whether or not yametoka hapa. It makes good business sense. Mhusika atafutwe baadaye. Tshs. 6b?

 

[meningitis]

sioni umuhimu wa kubishana katika hili.kama nchi tuna wajibu wa kujua ziliingizwa vipi nchini(kama kweli sio za kwetu)
wahusika mipakani na bandarini wawajibishwe.kubisha tu eti sio hakuna tija.kwa maneno mengine wachina wanatuambia tufanye kazi na tuachane na ufisadi sasa kwa kuwa mawaziri wetu ndio hawa wa one ninteeny ninty six four basi utasikia kakurupukia kwenye media na kuanza kupinga.

 

[alex50]

Watuambie jina la meli iliyopeleka mzigo? Je si ni ile ile iliyopeleka mzigo uliokamatwa awali? Meli inamilikiwa na kigogo yupi?