THE High Court has dismissed an appeal against conviction and sentence by a Hwange man who was convicted for illegal possession of elephant tusks.
Dennis Moyo was convicted at Hwange Magistrates Court for illegal possession of ivory sometime in 2021. He was sentenced to nine years in jail.
Moyo then filed an appeal against conviction and sentence at the Bulawayo High Court, but his appeal was dismissed.
He was jointly charged with Enock Mhlanga, Lot Sibanda and Collen Shoko for illegal possession of 45,1kg of ivory in 2021.
The court heard that on June 26, 2021, police detectives received information about a Toyota Hilux twin-cab headed for Bulawayo loaded with ivory.
The police officers laid an ambush.
The next day, the police noticed the vehicle parked at a lay-by facing the Bulawayo direction.
They then surrounded the vehicle and identified themselves to the accused persons.
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A search was conducted and two pieces of raw elephant ivory were recovered from behind the back seat partially covered with a white sack.
Another piece of raw elephant ivory was found on the floor of the vehicle while one more tusk was hidden in the load box.
Detectives requested a permit for possessing raw elephant ivory, but the accused persons failed to produce any, leading to their arrest.
The raw elephant ivory weighed 45,1kg and was valued at US$6 931.
