SWISS AIRPORT SECURITY NAB A QUARTER TON OF TANZANIAN BLOOD IVORY
(Posted 05th August 2015)
Reports are now emerging that Swiss customs and security personnel in Zurich had a month ago confiscated just over 250 kilograms of blood ivory coming from Dar es Salaam and labeled for a final destination in China. The street value of the contraband was given as being worth over 400.000 US Dollars. It was not immediately clear from the reports if the owners of the eight suitcases, said to be three Chinese citizens, were taken in to custody in Zurich.
This latest episode of blood ivory being smuggled out of Tanzania suggests that words and bribes in that country remain cheap. It exposes once again a glaring gap in airport security in Tanzania if several suitcases can be checked in and loaded on to an aircraft without detection, unless of course the suspected bribery was at work with airport and security staff conniving with the smugglers.
Tanzania has, the country is now in election mode, in the more recent past made a number of declarations and gave assurances over the halt of poaching and yet does the flow of blood ivory just not seem to stop, as this latest revelation confirms. The outgoing regime of President Kikwete has presided over the worst elephant slaughter in history and for many years done absolutely nothing to bring the killer gangs to justice, to the contrary, as Kikwete binned a list of 300 individuals named by former tourism minister Amb. Khamis Kagesheki and instead sent him packing from cabinet. Kagesheki just secured with a very large majority the nomination as candidate of the ruling party CCM in his home constituency, a sign that his voters at home were not duped into believing he was not fit for the job and it is hoped that he will sooner or later be able to publish the names on the list and have them investigated and, where evidence supports it charged in courts of law. This would be a step in the right direction rather than the hot air presently circulating from government officials about ivory seizures and arrests, all by and large of poaching underlings whereas the kingpins remain free to enjoy their loot.
