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Victor Maphosa Herald Reporter
A Harare man landed in court after he was found soliciting for a buyer for an elephant tusk in Chitungwiza. Onisimo Tafiraje (31) appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Josephine Sande facing charges of unlawful possession of raw ivory. He was remanded in custody to January 25.
Allegations are that on December 29 last year, detectives from Minerals and Border Control Unit received information that a man in Chitungwiza was in possession of an elephant tusk and was looking for a buyer.
Posing as potential buyers, detectives contacted Tafiraje and they agreed to meet at Zengeza 3 Shopping Centre. It is further alleged that upon arrival of the detectives at the shopping centre, they invited Tafiraje into their vehicle and asked him to show them the tusk.
Tafiraje, the court heard, opened his black satchel, which was concealing the tusk and handed the tusk to one of the detectives. At that moment, detectives identified themselves by producing and showing their identity cards to Tafiraje. The court further heard that detectives requested a licence that authorised Tafiraje to sell elephant tusks, but he failed to produce one, leading to his arrest.
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