4 nabbed for 118kg ivory

Codelia Mondela, Court Reporter
FOUR men from Bulawayo have appeared in court for possessing 118kg of ivory worth more than $20 000 without a permit.

Laurence Edward Van Aswegen (69), Norman Dlamini (43), Christopher Mishoni (46) and Vusa Lunga (29) were ambushed by detectives on Tuesday and found in possession of 26 pieces of raw unmarked ivory valued at $20 060 while they were on their way to Sunninghill suburb..

Van Aswegen is also facing an additional charge after two pieces of unmarked ivory were found at his house in Hillside suburb.

A court heard that when they were arrested Dlamini, Mishoni and Lunga said Van Aswegen was the owner of all the ivory.

Bulawayo magistrate Ms Nyarai Ringisai did not ask the quartet to plead to charges of illegal possession of ivory.

She advised them to apply for bail at the High Court and remanded the matter to Monday when they will be provided with a trial date.

Mishoni and Van Aswegen are represented by Mr Nqobani Sithole of Ncube Attorneys while Dlamini and Lunga are represented by Ms Vivian Chikomo of Dube Tachiona and Tsvangirai Legal Practitioners.

For the State, Mr Tawurai Hondoyemoto alleged that detectives arrested the four on Tuesday following a tip off.

“Detectives drove to Ascot complex around 9PM and at the intersection of King George Avenue and Leopold Takawira Street they observed the four who were in a Toyota Avensis turning into Leopold Takawira towards Gwanda. They intercepted the vehicle when it turned into Sunninghill suburb along Gibbs Avenue,” he said.

“They introduced themselves as police officers and conducted a search and discovered 26 unmarked elephant ivory pieces. The four failed to produce a licence and implicated Van Aswegen as the owner.

“Dlamini, Mishoni and Lunga then led police to Van Aswegen’s house in Hillside. Van Aswegen confirmed that there was ivory at his house and two more pieces were found in his store room.” – @MondelaC.