Kenyan police arrest man with elephant tusk pieces

KAPENGURIA, Kenya, June 12 (Xinhua) --

Kenyan police on Monday arrested a man with elephant tusk pieces weighing 4.8 kilograms in the Kapenguria area in northwest West Pokot County.

Alex Tirop Maywa was arrested at a local trading center with eight pieces of ivory as he boarded a vehicle to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, West Pokot County Police Commander Peter Katamu said.

"We managed to arrest the suspect in Makutano trading center after founding eight pieces of elephant tusk weighing 4.8 kilograms concealed in a white nylon sack and weighing scale inside a black bag," Katamu told Xinhua on the phone.

The tusks are suspected to have been sourced from a local game reserve.

Conservationists have raised concern over the poaching of elephants in local game reserves but lauded the police vigilance in the region.

Francis Karichu, one of the conservationists in the region, said the presence of illegal guns in the area poses a threat to the survival of wildlife.