Tsavo West National Park Wood carving syndicate smashed
A huge breakthrough, a success story. The ongoing bush clearing for the planned 22 km long Mtito Andei-Chyulu fence line has enabled the Tsavo West rangers to access new areas for their foot patrols. During their last patrol they came across some guys carrying three sacks full of wood carvings. Out of the... group the two rangers only managed to arrest one as the rest ran away. During the following questioning, the wood poacher switched sides and volunteered to give all of his accomplices’ names and hiding places within the park, which led to the arrest of 14 more illegal wood carvers inside the park the very next day, including two more sacks of almost finished wood carvings.
As we rushed to the site of the arrests, two suspects had volunteered yet more information and heated discussions were ongoing. A young woman from the neighbouring community was shouting at the group of 14 arrested poachers that they should be ashamed of themselves, that they were destroying the little that was left of trees, waving her arm at them and blaming them for finishing everything in the area – “this is the end, they will kill it all”, she kept on shouting. As it turned out none of the arrested guys were from the local communities, but were all “foreigners” from Kibwezi. Asked why they had moved here they said that there were no more trees left in their area to do good business, which is why they had come to Tsavo West to access the rich pickings of the Chuylu Hills.
The wood carvings are made from trees inside the National Park and are carved to almost completion still inside the park, then transported out by foot in big sacks and taken to small villages, where the carvings will be given their finishing touches, to then be taken and sold in Nairobi on the Maasai Market every week on Fridays.
The Chief of Police Mtito Andei and the Counsellor of Mitto Andei West arrived on the scene as well on their motorbikes and more questioning ensued. One young guy became very angry as a result to his arrest, shouting that he had only been in the park for the past one and a half years, whilst there were others who had been there for ten and why they were not arrested, but him instead. Information was gathered by the Tsavo West Education Officer and Sergeant that there were another staggering three hundred people illegally inside the park, felling trees every day to turn them into wood carvings! A dealer buys a pair of salad forks for 20/= KShs and sells them on for 600/= KShs on the Nairobi market!
Suddenly there was commotion, another motorbike approaching which made all the prisoners stir and chattering, but suddenly the rider jumped off and ran for his life into the bush, abandoning his bike and everything on it. The arrested guys said it was their boss, the buyer, who had been scheduled to come that day to pick up the almost finished carvings to get them ready in time for the next market day in Nairobi. His name was happily divulged, the motorbike confiscated and the first load of prisoners loaded into the KWS Land Cruiser to be taken to the park HQ for statements. An all round success. The rest of the 300 poachers are still out there, but their arrest is imminent and the entire wood carving syndicate, including the main buyer, will be smashed!
The lately donated Land Cruiser by IFAW was crucial in this operation.
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