Police at Kigali International Airport arrested two Chinese nationals with 2.5 kilogrammes of ivory suspected to have been smuggled from DR Congo. The suspects were intercepted as they tried to go through a check point at the airport on Saturday afternoon according to Police. They are detained at Kicukiro Police Station as investigations continue. Modeste Mbabazi, the Police spokesperson for Central Kigali, said the ivory was found cut into 32 small pieces and concealed in a tin. “The tin, which was also concealed in their luggage, was detected by a scanner at the checkpoint,” Mbabazi said. The suspects are employees of Cemerwa cement factory in Rusizi District, Western Province, and were headed to China aboard Ethiopian Airlines. The suspects also tried to bribe a police officer at the airport with $85 (Rwf58,000) and 100 Chinese Yuan (Rwf11,000) to secure their gate pass but the officer refused and arrested them, Mbabazi added. “Corruption is a taboo in Rwanda and in the Rwanda National Police in particular. We will not hesitate to arrest anyone who tries to bribe in order to continue with an illegal act, be it Rwandan or non-Rwandan.”
