Killer of British Anti-Poaching Pilot Among 9 Arrested in Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — The man who shot British pilot Roger Gower as he was flying an anti-poaching mission near the Serengeti 10 days ago has been arrested, and a criminal poaching ring uncovered, after an intense investigation, according to news reports.

At least nine people were arrested, the Tanzanian authorities said on Monday, after a weeklong manhunt through villages near the area where Gower’s aircraft was shot at, and one of the bullets pierced the floor of the craft and hit him.

The suspects included Iddi Mashaka, a former police officer and a current intelligence officer working with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, which manages Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, who helped poachers travel undetected, according to an investigating officer quoted by news reports.

Another source close to the investigation was quoted saying that at least two other employees with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area were arrested.

Gower, 37, was shot on 29 January when flying over Maswa Game Reserve, where he and a colleague spotted a newly killed elephant and went for a closer look. Gower was able to land the aircraft after being shot, but died from his injuries.

The gunman, a 28-year-old, led the police to the rifle that shot Gower, which was hidden on his roof, and to tusks he had taken from the elephant, the reports said.

Tanzania’s National and Transnational Serious Crimes Investigation Unit teamed up with the police and the local authorities to find the suspects, one of whom was chased hundreds of kilometers to the Tanzanian capital, Dodoma.

“We took this very seriously,” Major General Gaudence Milanzi, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, was quoted as saying. “We put a lot of effort into catching these poachers.”

Gower’s body was returned to England last week. The family has reportedly set up a crowdfunding campaign in his honor that has already raised more than $72,000, money they hope will be used to help combat poaching in Tanzania.