An image of a walking stick made from ivory/AI ILLUSTRATION

Airport officials confiscated a walking stick made from ivory from a Congolese passenger who was en route to Burundi.

The police said the passenger had originated Kinshasa, DR Congo and was on his way to Burundi when he was intercepted at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with the walking stick on Monday.

After being questioned, the passenger told officials at the airport he had been gifted the walking stick by his grandfather as a family symbol of power.

The airport officials decided to confiscate the walking stick and allowed the passenger to proceed with his trip.

Kenya Wildlife Service officials were called and took possession of the ivory whose value was not revealed amid investigations.

Ivory trade and trafficking is generally banned. JKIA officials said they the capacity and technology to detect such tricks used for trafficking the banned ivory.

Officials believe the walking stick could have been sold elsewhere.

This indicates elephants are being killed despite stringent measures in place to address the menace of poaching.

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.

Regionally, Kenya has also emerged as a major transit route for ivory destined for Asian markets from eastern and central Africa.

The illegal ivory trade is mostly fueled by demand in Asia and the Middle East, where elephant tusks and rhino horns are used to make ornaments and traditional medicines.

Officials say despite a ban on the international trade in ivory, African elephants are still being poached in large numbers.

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.

Kenya Wildlife Service 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.

These efforts led to zero rhino poaching in Kenya in 2020-the first time in about two decades.

On April 30, 2016, Kenya set ablaze 105 tonnes of elephant ivory and 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta led world leaders and conservationists in burning the remains of elephants and rhinos killed for their tusks and horn.

Parliament has also passed strict anti-poaching laws and the government has beefed up security at parks to stop poaching, which threatens the vital tourism industry.