Poachers Busted Following British Pilot’s Killing
At least three wildlife officials were arrested as part of investigation that has drawn praise from the pilot’s brother.
A poaching ring working near Tanzania’s famed Serengeti National Park was dismantled following an investigation into the killing of a British helicopter pilot on January 28. Roger Gower, 37, a pilot for the Friedkin Conservation Fund was shot during an antipoaching operation in Maswa Game Reserve.
According to Lazaro Mambosasa, the regional police commissioner, his men arrested nine people in connection with Gower’s death, and a national government task force arrested and detained several others. Mambosasa said Ngile Gonga, 28, a farmer from Sungu, a village near the park where Gower was killed, has confessed to the shooting.
Mambosasa said his officers seized two hunting rifles, several rounds of ammunition, and two elephant tusks weighing 68 pounds (31 kilograms) as part
