Maralal police destroy illegal sandalwood worth Sh40m

Sandalwood with a street value of Sh40 million was on Thursday destroyed at the Maralal Police Station premises in Samburu County.

The illegal Sandalwood was confiscated from two loggers who were arrested along the Wamba-Maralal road last month. The consignment is believed to have originated from the Samburu East communal forest.

Samburu County Police Commander, Samson Ogalo oversaw the destruction of the batch outside the police station.

Also present during the destruction were County Commissioner Mr John Korir, Principle Magistrate Richard Koech and officials from Kenya Forestry Services and Kenya Wildlife Services.

FACING EXTINCTION

“The destruction was made because the prosecution was already done with sampling the exhibits. The case is still in court,” Mr Ogalo said.

Mr Korir appealed to residents to desist from destroying the wood, saying it was a valuable resource that needs protection.

The government banned sandalwood harvesting imposed by President Mwai Kibaki in a gazette notice on April 4, 2007, under the protected tree species law.

The ban was imposed after concerns from conservationists were raised pertaining the harvesting of the tree that was facing extinction.

Trade of sandalwood which is exported for use in the pharmaceutical and perfume industries has been illegal since then.