Elephant campaigner arrested for selling ivory

Updated
Elephant campaigner arrested for selling ivory
Elephant campaigner arrested for selling ivory


An elephant campaigner who worked on David Attenborough's Africa television series has been arrested for the illegal possession of ivory in Kenya.

Soila Sayialel, the deputy director of campaign group Amboseli Trust for Elephants, was caught with 19kg of ivory in the back of her car.

According to Wildlife News, her son has also been charged.

The pair was released on bail and an investigation has been launched.

A Kenya Wildlife Service official told Standard Media: "KWS personnel disguised themselves as ivory buyers and in the process arrested the suspect and detained the vehicle she used to transport the elephant tusks."

The spokesperson added that the Amboseli Elephant Research had "been accusing KWS of failing to stamp out widespread subsistence and commercial poaching. We have later discovered that it is the one perpetrating the vice."

Sayialel claims that she has been framed by Kenyan Wildlife Service officials because of her work in protecting elephants.

Her and her son's next hearing is on 17 June.

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