Cops in Kilimanjaro region, working together with rangers from the Tanzania Wildlife Authority have arrested four motorbike riders accusing them of illegal hunting.
The four suspects according to police reports, were trying to transport three, freshly killed zebra carcasses from the Karambandeha village in Mwanga District on the leeward side of Mount Kilimanjaro.
The four, reportedly got caught red-handed while hacking the ungulate carcasses into pieces for easy portability on their motorbike saddles.
The three large zebras together with a smaller dik-dik are believed to have been illegally hunted in the little-known, Karambandeha Forest Reserved in the Kilimanjaro Region.
In connection with the incident, the police have also impounded three Chinese-made motorcycles that were found with the suspects in Mwanga District.
The alleged poachers are essentially very young men.
It seems the alleged poachers were five, but one of them, managed to escape when security forces appeared at the scene of the crime, after being tipped out.
The police are currently searching for the renegade poacher who made a dash for it with his gun.
The runaway suspect is said to be the group’s gunman and he disappeared with the automatic firearm, possible a machine gun which was used to shoot down the animals.
Other weapons found with the suspects are machetes and heavy knives used to chop the zebras into pieces for easy packing and transportation.