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Three Men In Police Custody For Possessing Pangolins In Kwale County

SK 2 years ago 2 min read

Three males from Kinango, Kwale County, who were detained after being discovered in possession of a rare pangolin mammal are being investigated by police.

Following a tip-off from the public, Pas Mwiti, 30, Kabwere Tembe, 26, and Salim Nduria, 22, were apprehended acting as smugglers of the highly sought-after mammal.

The group was eventually apprehended, the animal was saved, and it was then transported to Nairobi after a thrilling pursuit with detectives.

“Two of the suspects attempted to set the animal free and took flight. This prompted the detectives to chase after the scary mammal with a full armour of scales and the two men, leaving a thick cloud of dust. “However, they finally restrained the duo and the mammal and gave them a ride to Nairobi, ” the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said on Tuesday.

The animal has been given to Kenya Wildlife Service representatives at the Nairobi Animal Orphanage, and the three are being kept at the DCI headquarters in Nairobi.

One of the most lucrative forms of wildlife trafficking worldwide is the trade in pangolins.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) claims that the animals, which are not reptiles as many people believe, are mostly trafficked for their scales, which are used as a luxury cuisine and are thought to treat a number of illnesses in traditional medicine.

The price of a pangolin per kilogram can reach Ksh. 42,000 in Vietnam, while the price of the entire animal can reach Ksh. 4 million.

It is also said that the pangolin fetus has aphrodisiac properties.

Although it is unknown how many pangolins are remaining in the wild, scientists and campaigners claim that the number is rapidly decreasing. Some experts believe that pangolins are most likely the most trafficked mammal in the world.