Mozambique: SERNIC seizes elephant tusks in Tete
Club of Mozambique
January 8, 2025
The National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) in Tete seized four
ivory tusks about to be sold to Mozambican citizens, leaving Three
individuals now in police custody in connection with the case.
The four tusks, weighing 30 kilograms, were seized on Sunday at the home of
one of the detainees in the district of Mágoè. The ivory was reportedly
about to be sold to Mozambicans for 150,000 meticais.
One of the members of the group denies involvement in the crime and claims
to have been merely an intermediary, while another suspect says that his
main task in the negotiations was to photograph and send the photo of the
product to the potential buyer.
“My neighbour only asked me to take a photo. He said that after he closed
the deal, he would give me a little,” he said.
Sernic spokesperson in Tete, Celina Roque, says that the fourth member of
the group, considered the ringleader, was still at large, explaining that
the ivory tusks were sourced in Mágoè National Park.
“We have a fugitive, and agents from the two institutions mentioned are
already on the ground in a bid to neutralize the criminal,” Roque said.
https://clubofmozambique.com/news/mozambique-sernic-seizes-elephant-tusks-in-tete-273542/