Kenya's ivory smuggling kingpin jailed 20 years

Mohammed Feisal, an ivory poaching kingpin has been sentenced to 20-years in jail after he was found guilty of possessing ivory worth $430,000 (the equivalent of 44 million Kenyan Shillings.)

The Principal magistrate who delivered the verdict in the Kenyan town of Mombasa also imposed a fine of over $196,000 (20 million shillings) on him adding that it will serve as an example to those behind the poaching menace in the country.

Mohammed was accused along with four others of possessing 2,152 kilogrammes of ivory in June 2015. He however disappeared from Kenya until he was arrested by Interpol in Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam in December 2014.

“It is evident that Mohammed left the country incognito when the ivory was recovered,” the Magistrate noted in her ruling.

Four other suspects were however freed by the court because, according to the magistrate, they were caught up in Mohammed’s dealings unknowingly.

The east African country, in April burnt 120 tonnes of ivory as part of an international summit hosted by President Uhuru Kenyatta to end poaching on the continent.

The stockpile of ivory set ablaze includes tusks seized from poachers and animals who died of natural causes representing 6700 elephants and worth about $30 million on the black market.

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