4 arrested as Kenya investigates 18 elephant deaths in Amboseli
Police have arrested four suspects in an investigation into the deaths of 18 elephants in Kenya’s Amboseli ecosystem, where authorities also seized assorted substances including chemicals, the tourism and wildlife ministry has said.
A Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) spokesperson told Reuters on Monday that the four had since been released on bail.
Preliminary laboratory results pointed to the probable involvement of a toxic substance, the ministry said in a statement released on Saturday, with earlier indications suggesting cyanide poisoning due to the ingestion of pesticide-contaminated tomatoes from farms bordering Amboseli National Park.
Some wildlife experts have expressed doubt that farm pesticide was responsible for the deaths, citing the absence of reported deaths among other animals in the area.
The ministry said investigators were also pursuing a fifth individual believed to have information relevant to the case. A search in Tikondo in Loitoktok sub-county, about 220km (137 miles) southeast of Nairobi, led to the discovery of assorted substances, including chemicals believed to have come from a neighbouring country, the statement said.