Five people were charged with dealing with an endangered wildlife species by a Nairobi court on Wednesday.
The five were Joseph Nguro Kabiro, Stephen Odongo, Mutua Mwangangi, Morris Maina and Agnes Nene Nasieku.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted a temporary bond of Sh2 million and a cash bail of a similar amount.
The suspects were arrested by detectives while transporting some exotic East African wood contrary to the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act.
Sleuths from the Serious Crime Unit, acting on intelligence obtained from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, intercepted the lorry ferrying the species along the busy Nairobi-Nakuru highway on March 21.
DCI boss George Kinoti said that after a thorough search, ten sacks disguised as parcels containing 534 kgs of the East African wood were recovered.
"Upon investigations, it was established that the consignment had initially been sent from Kitui and was destined for Busia border via Nairobi, with Odongo, Mwangangi and Maina being the middlemen," DCI boss Kinoti said.
Joseph Nguro, 32, the man who was behind the wheel of the Isuzu truck ferrying the consignment, together with the three accomplices were immediately placed in custody.
The detectives applied cybercrime techniques and link analysis at the DCI National Forensic Laboratory and successfully apprehended Agnes Nasieku, who was to receive the consignment.
The case will be mentioned on May 23, 2022.
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