A 55 year old man from Budiriro Harare, who was arrested in Hwange after being found in possession of three kg’s of cyanide suspected to be meant for elephant poaching, has appeared at the Hwange Magistrate court facing charges of contravening Environmental Management Control of Hazardous Substance regulations.
The accused, Danmore Chinjonjo failed to produce a permit from the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) after being found in possession of cyanide, which was in a plastic bag.
Chinjonjo is also facing charges of illegal possession of three pangolin scales, in contravention of the Parks and Wildlife Act, after being apprehended by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) on 21 August at Thulani Bar in Hwange.
He was remanded in custody to 9 September as the the police continue to carry out further investigations on the case.
The use of the highly toxic industrial chemical, cyanide, to kill elephants in areas such as Hwange, Mana Pools and Gonarezhou prompted the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) and the law enforcement agents to scale up their anti-poaching drive.
