A Nata family and three foreign nationals are in police custody after they were found with elephant tusks.
Reports from Nata Village, in the Tutume sub-district, indicate that a mother and her three children, together with three Zambian nationals, were arrested by the police after they were found in possession of ivory.
The police received a tip off to a certain house around Nata where they searched the house that belonged to one of the suspects and there found ivory hidden in the house.
Nata Police Station Commander, Superintendent Otsile Fani, told The Telegraph on Monday that his station is investigating the case and confirmed the arrest of eight people over illegal possession of elephant tusks.
He explained that the eight suspects are four Nata locals and three foreigners from Zambia, aged between 35 and 55.
“The tusks were found hidden in one of the rooms in the suspect’s house during police investigations,” he said.
Fani said he could not yet tell if the ivory had recently been removed from the elephants, saying that will be determined after examination.
He expressed concern over the steadily increasing number of people being caught with elephant tusks as well as the increase in the poaching of elephants.
He appealed to residents to refrain from poaching which could result in the depletion of wildlife.
“Some Nata residents have the tendency of conniving with foreigners to kill elephants,” said the Deputy Headman of Nata Tribal Administration, Rebagamang Rancholo. “As the village authority, we condemn such acts; they give our village a bad reputation.”
