Tanzanian officials recently impounded 89 elephant tusks with a street value of almost US$ 700,000 at a roadblock near the Masasi township. The Tanzanian Natural Resources and Tourism Minister, Ambassador Khamis Kagasheki, requested that his ministry be afforded some time before it exposes all the perpetrators.
Three suspects of Chinese origin were arrested shortly after the government suspended Operation Tokomeza following complaints of victimization. The men were arrested at Mikocheni with 706 pieces of tusks, the value of which still has to be determined.
