Tanzanian police arrest four Chinese with 11 rhino horns

Tanzanian police arrest four Chinese with 11 rhino horns

Tanzanian police arrest four Chinese with 11 rhino horns

Tanzanian police said Sunday they had
arrested four Chinese men after finding
11 rhino horns hidden beneath their car
in one of the largest seizures in the east
Africa country.
The four were arrested on Friday in the
southwestern district of Mbeya after they
crossed into Tanzania from
neighbouring Malawi, a police statement
said.
“An investigation is ongoing, and the
suspects will soon appear in court,” it
said.
African rhinos have two horns, meaning
the seizure represents the death of at
least six animals.
Hundreds of rhinos are massacred every
year for their horn, used in East Asia for
its supposed medicinal qualities.
The latest tallies show the slaughter of
rhinos has climbed to a new high. Last
year saw a record 1,215 rhino killed for
their horn.
Demand for the rhinoceros horn —
which is made of keratin, which is also
found in hair and nails — has boomed
in Vietnam and China, where it is valued
for its supposed medicinal properties.
The highest levels of rhino poaching
takes place in South Africa, which is
home to around 20,000 rhino, or 80
percent of the world population.
Poaching is rampant in east African
nations including Tanzania and Kenya,
but poachers there focus more on
elephant killing.