Six persons are accused of breaking into the Babile Elephant Sanctuary Park, killing an elephant, stealing its tusks, and then fleeing, according to the East Hararge Zone Police.
These six Dedeka Tola District citizens were apprehended after breaking into the Babile Elephant Sanctuary unlawfully with weapons in hand, killing an elephant, stealing its tusks, and attempting to use them for their personal gain.
According to Mohamed Adam, the director of the Babile Zones Shelter Park, the men broke into the Babile Elephant Sanctuary, murdered an elephant, and then used an ax to remove its tusks before selling them to smugglers.
The police filed a complaint and presented it to the prosecutor for failing to comply with the instructions provided for the preservation and care of forest and wild animals. The punishments for the first and second defendants were 2 years and 5 months in prison, while those for the third through sixth defendants were 1 year and 5 months.
Mohammed Adam went on to explain that elephants could be found near the border between Somalia and Ethiopia and that the tusks were traded for more than 1.5 million birr.