A Vietnamese man has been arrested when attempting to smuggle five pieces of rhino horns weighing 20.1 kilograms in total out of Kenya.
The 29-year-old man, Le Manh Cuong, was caught red-handed carrying the horns at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) when being on transit from Maputo, Mozambique en-route to Hong Kong via Doha, Qatar on Tuesday afternoon, according to local newswire Standard Media.
The contraband was detected and seized by a joint security team, including officials from the Kenya Airports Police Unit, Customs, Kenya Airport Authority, Kenya Airways and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), detected and seized, Standard Media reported.
“The pieces of rhino were packed in a hand-drawn suitcase stuffed with mattresses cuttings to disguise it,” said Standard Media.
Cuong was reported to have disembarked a KQ749 flight from Maputo and was scheduled to board a Qatar Airways flight QR535 from Nairobi to Doha and later connect to Hong Kong aboard a QR614 flight, Standard Media quoted representative of Kenya Wildlife Service as saying.
“The suspect has been booked at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Police Station awaiting arraignment at Makadara Law Courts on Wednesday,” said the Kenya-based newswire.
Thirty-nine foreigners, including 9 Vietnamese and 19 Chinese nationals, have been arrested smuggling illegal wildlife products out of the country this year, Standard Media reported.
