Kenya police find record haul of smuggled ivory

A Kenya Wildlife Service warder inspects a section of elephant tusks. Police in Kenya have seized two tonnes of ivory worth $1.15 million, the biggest haul on record in the East African country.

By James Macharia, Reuters

"This is a big catch, the biggest ever single seizure of ivory at the port of Mombasa," said Kiberenge Seroney, the port's police officer in charge of criminal investigations.

"We fail to understand where one gathers the courage to park such enormous quantities of ivory, hoping that they can slip through our security systems."

Poaching is a growing problem for sub-Saharan African countries reliant on rich wildlife in their game reserves to draw foreign tourists.

A worker arranges elephant tusks recovered from a container on transit, at the Kenyan port city of Mombasa on Jan15.