07 Sep 2017

 Four men aged between 36 and 43 have been arrested in connection with ten pieces of elephant tusks found in their possession at a settlement near Nxaraga village in the Ngamiland district.

Acting officer commanding, Senior Superintendent Samuel Kgomo confirmed in an interview that the suspects were in police custody to help in investigations.

He revealed that the suspects were arrested recently at the settlement and ten pieces of elephant trophy and a shot gun were found in their possession.

The suspects were found after a massive search which took three weeks after the incident was reported.

Narrating the details of the incident, Senior Supt Kgomo said they received information last month (August 12) from some residents of Nxaraga, who reported that they heard a gunshot in the surrounding and later rushed to the scene, only to found three elephants killed and tusks missing.

The concerned residents, he said reported the matter to the police who embarked on a massive search until the arrest of the suspects.

He said the suspects are expected to appear before Maun magistrate soon.

In Maun, a 32-year-old woman was raped by two men at Thito ward on Saturday. The victiom, said Senior Supt Kgomo met her fate while visiting neighbours.

He said the victim’s ex-boyfriend joined her at the neighbour’s place and later invited her to his house where upon arrival, he used force to take off her clothes and raped her and later called on his friend who also came to the house and raped the victim.

The suspects were still at large and police chief had appealed to the public to assist them with information which could lead to the duo’s arrest.

In another incident, a 32-year-old man is in police custody after he was found with a substance suspected to be dagga and two raffle bullets; a 30.06 and 0.375 raffles respectively.

Senior Supt Kgomo said the suspect was arrested during a stop and question search exercise on Sunday (03 Sep) near one of the night clubs in Maun.

During the search, he said the police found the substance which weighed 10 grams and raffles. However, the suspect failed to account for the objects in his possession.

The suspect resides at Riverside ward in Maun.

The police senior officer also raised a concern about the high number of missing persons’ reports in his policing area. He also appealed to people to always notify their families when they go out. This followed an incident in which a middle aged man was found hanging from a tree in the bush at Koromo cattle post. Senior Supt Kgomo said the deceased was seen by a certain man who was looking for his goats in the bush.

The police were notified and the body of the deceased was rushed to Letsholathebe Memorial hospital for post mortem to establish the cause of his death. The public is requested to come to the hospital to assist in identification of the deceased so that his next kin could be informed. ENDS