Kenya police arrests suspect involved in US wildlife smuggling

• Kenyan police arrest Abdi Hussein Ahmed, alias Abu Khadi, in Meru county.
• Accused of conspiracy to traffic rhinoceros horns and elephant species worth $7 million (£5.7 million) and intent to traffic one kilogramme of cocaine.
• Arrest comes after US Embassy made public plea for information leading to Ahmed’s arrest.

Kenyan police have arrested a guy tied to a multinational drug and wildlife trafficking organisation who was indicted alongside three others in a US court.

Following a tip from the public, officers from Kenya’s Serious Crimes Unit detained Abdi Hussein Ahmed, alias Abu Khadi, in central Meru county on Tuesday.

In 2019, Mr Ahmed was accused in the Southern District of New York with conspiracy to traffic rhinoceros horns and elephant species worth $7 million (£5.7 million) and intent to traffic one kilogramme of cocaine.

He was charged alongside Moazu Kromah alias Ayoub, Amara Cherif alias Bamba Issiaka, and Mansur Mohamed Surur alias Mansour.

They allegedly planned to transport horns and ivory from Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mozambique, Senegal, and Tanzania.

The arrest comes after US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Eric Kneedler and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Director General George Kinoti made a public request for information leading to Mr Ahmed’s arrest on May 26.

Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh, Mr Ahmed’s suspected accomplice, was detained a week after the plea.

The arrest of Mr Ahmed and Mr Saleh, according to the DCI, demonstrates “the directorate’s longtime relationship with the United States in tackling transnational organised crime around the world.”

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