A POLICE officer and Simanjiro District Wildlife Department boss were seriously wounded when some people shot at them while the two were conducting anti-poaching exercises in the Lengasiti wilderness early this week. The Lengasiti village chairman Mr Maningo Kutatoi was later to become among the two suspects who got apprehended in connection with the shoot-out scenario.
“The two officers were in the midst of conducting a special exercise aimed at curbing deforestation and poaching in the vicinity when the they got shot,” said Commander Aurelia Msindai. The two officials, according to police reports were also accompanied by other two policemen, two forestry officers and a couple of game scouts. The team was riding in a Toyota Land-Cruiser (Troop-carrier) vehicle with registration numbers SM-2922 belonging to the Simanjiro District Council when a gang of people ambushed the vehicle and started firing at them.
Reports from the district indicate that of late, the forest cover in Simanjiro was experiencing mass destruction due to invasion by charcoal burners and poachers.
Rangers on Patrol (Credit: Danni Torres)
Rangers arresting poachers in Tanzania
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