The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) arrested, on Tuesday, two young men in possession of two ivory tips, in Gaza province.

The arrest of the 20 and 23-year-old individuals occurred in the act when they were trying to sell the ivory tips in the Massingir district.

"[The arrest occurred] after coordinated work with the National Criminal Investigation Service [SERNIC] and Limpopo National Park inspectors," said chief of operations at the PRM district command.

Paulino Ernesto mentioned that the detainees are indicted for the crimes of illegal slaughter and illegal possession of prohibited species.

Gaza province is one of the parts of the country where many young people start poaching wild animals for horns and ivory teeth. There is a lot of dubious wealth there. Read more...

According to the National Administration of Conservation Areas since 2009, the country has lost at least ten thousand elephants, and in the Niassa Reserve in the north of the country alone, the total number of this species went from 12,000 to 4,400 in three years (between 2011 and 2014). More recent reports indicate that the country lost 48% of its elephant population between 2011 and 2016.