By Lovemore Khomo
Namwera Police Post in Mangochi District have arrested two men for allegedly being found with a dead pangolin.
According to Mangochi Police Public Relations Officer Amina Tepani Daudi, the duo who have been identified as Afick John, 35 and Elias Janatu, 45, were apprehended on the night of March 11, 2023 within Chiponde area.
Tepani Daudi narrates, “Namwera Police detectives were tipped by members of the community that some three men were offering for sale the listed specie at the Trading Centre.
And police in coordination with National Parks and Wildlife officers rushed to the place and apprehended two suspects while the other bolted.”
The officers also found the dead Pangolin which was hidden in a plastic paper inside the black laptop bag.
The suspects claimed to have acquired the animal from Mozambique.
The duo will appear before court after the completion of paperwork to answer the charge of illegal possession of specimen of listed species contrary to section 110(b)of National Parks and Wildlife Act.
Tepani Daudi points that statistics from January 2023 up to date this is the first case of Pangolin(two suspects) to have been registered compared to three cases(seven suspects) which the station recorded during the same period in 2022.
Meanwhile, Police have thanked members of the public for their support in the fight against wildlife crime in the district.
