Police and Kenya Wildlife Service officials arrested three suspects with 85.7 kilos of elephant tusks worth Sh8 million along Garsen-Witu Road in Tana River County.
The arrests were made on Friday September 20 in an operation staged following reports the three were selling the tusks.
The three include a woman and were carrying two elephant tusks that had been chopped into pieces and tucked into two sacks, officials said.
The suspects had hidden the tusks in a bush as they waited for a possible buyer when they were busted.
They were arrested and taken to Garsen police station for grilling ahead of planned arraignment on Monday, police and KWS said.
The officials said the suspects will be charged with the offence of being in Possession of Wildlife Trophies of Endangered Species Contrary to Section 92(4) of the Wildlife Conservation Management Act 2013.
Officials said the seizure shows an elephant had been killed and there is a likelihood the incident happened in the nearby parks.
The seizure continues despite harsh penalties on those found with the tusks.
Elephant tusks fetch a fortune in the black market as a surge in demand for ivory in the East continues to fuel the illicit trade in elephant tusks, especially from Africa.
Officials say despite a ban on the international trade in ivory, African elephants are still being poached in large numbers.
The illegal ivory trade is mostly fuelled by demand in Asia and the Middle East, where elephant tusks and rhino horns are used to make ornaments and traditional medicines, officials say.
As part of efforts to stop the menace, Kenya has started using high-tech surveillance equipment, including drones, to track poachers and keep tabs on elephants and rhinos.
KWS and stakeholders have put in place mechanisms to eradicate all forms of wildlife crime, particularly poaching.
These mechanisms include enhanced community education, interagency collaboration, and intensive intelligence-led operations, among others.
On April 30, 2016, Kenya set ablaze 105 tonnes of elephant ivory and 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn.
Parliament has also passed strict anti-poaching laws and the government has beefed up security at parks to stop poaching, threatening the vital tourism industry.
Regionally, Kenya has also emerged as a major transit route for ivory destined for Asian markets from eastern and central Africa.
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