Tanzania Police in collaboration with Interpol seized elephant ivory worth over 2.11 million Dollars.
Nine suspected smugglers were also arrested in the operation by Interpol and police forces in the region.
Two Guinea citizens and a Uganda National were among the arrested suspects.
“We were able to seize 666 pieces of elephant ivory, weighing 1,279kg valued at US$2.11 million,” Mr Diwani Athuman, director of criminal investigation, said in a statement.
According to the Director, the two-day joint operation was broadened by the participation of officials from the ministry of Energy and Minerals, Tanzania Revenue Authority, Tanzania Electric Supply Company, Immigration department and the Wildlife division. Code-named ‘Operation Usalama III’, the operation was part of the wider mission of eradicating crime.
“The crackdown covered eight zones which are; Northern zone, covering Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Tanga and Manyara regions; Central zone, covering Dodoma, Morogoro and Singida and Dar es Salaam zone covering Kinondoni, Ilala, Temeke and Coastal regions,” said the DCI.
The elephant population in Tanzania shrank to around 43,000 in 2014 from 110,000 in 2009, according to a census released last year, with conservationists blaming “industrial-scale” poaching. The rhino population is much smaller.
Tanzania President, John Magufuli has pledged to root out poaching as part of a wider war on corruption.
A prominent Chinese businesswoman Yang Feng Glan, 66, dubbed the “Ivory Queen”, is facing charges of running an elephant ivory smuggling network.
