Off the wire
• China military will firmly protect national sovereignty, maritime interests: spokesman  • China's top legislature to review enforcement of traffic law  • China to train versatile teachers to ease shortage  • FLASH: AT LEAST 10 DEAD, DOZENS INJURED IN HEAD-ON TRAIN COLLISION NEAR PULIA IN SOUTHERN ITALY -- REPORTS  • Urgent: Chinese foreign minister says South China Sea arbitration a political farce  • Commentary: Time to end South China Sea arbitration farce  • Xinhua China-related world news summary at 1030 GMT, July 12  • Two Haqqani militants captured in Afghanistan  • Weather forecast for major Chinese cities, regions -- July 12  • Weather forecast for world cities -- July 12  
You are here: 　 Home

Tanzanian police seize 1.2 tonnes of ivory, arrest 9 suspects

Xinhua, July 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

Tanzanian police in collaboration with Interpol have seized 1.2 tonnes of ivory and arrested nine suspects in connection with the haul, investigators said on Monday.

Diwani Athumani, the east African nation's Director of Criminal Investigations, said the seizure of the 1.2 tonnes of ivory and arrest of the nine suspects followed a two-day special operation in June by the local police and the Interpol in southern and eastern African zones.

"The nine suspects arrested in connection with the ivory were among 256 suspects who were arrested in the operation after they were linked with different criminal offences," Athumani told a news conference in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

He said the criminal offences linked to the 256 suspects as drug trafficking, human trafficking, possession of illegal firearms, illegal trading of minerals and theft of vehicles.

Athumani said other items seized during the operation were 116 firearms of different makes, 83 grams of heroin, explosives and detonators.

He said other seized items were 10 vehicles stolen from England, three from South Africa and two from Malaysia.

The police also seized 30 stolen motorcycles and arrested 43 illegal immigrants, including Congolese, Burundians, Rwandans and Kenyans. Endit