NAIROBI, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has mobilized security personnel to hunt for poachers who killed three rhinos at Meru National Park in the eastern part of the country, an official said on Thursday.

Najib Balala, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, said an elite security team had been deployed to Meru National Park and its vicinity to nab the criminal gang behind the killing of two adult black rhinos and a calf on Wednesday night.

"It is with a heavy heart that we announce the poaching of three rhinos on Wednesday night at the Rhino Sanctuary in Meru National Park. The security team upon hearing gunshots reacted swiftly and laid ambushes at strategic points though it did not yield results," Balala told reporters.

He revealed that a covert operation has been going on to help arrest the heavily armed gang behind the latest killing of black rhinos whose horns fetch huge sums of money in the black market.

"Our intelligence officers are already conducting probe on the culprits behind the first case of rhino poaching this year. An aerial and ground search could provide useful leads to help arrest these criminals," said Balala.

He added that surveillance has been enhanced in all protected wildlife sanctuaries to deter poaching of large mammals like elephants and rhinos.

"We have specifically beefed up security in protected parks and Laikipia area in northern Kenya where there is a large herd of elephants and rhinos," said Balala.

Kenya has lately won global acclaim for rolling out interventions that have led to a significant reduction in poaching of iconic wildlife species.

Balala said that poaching has been on a downward spiral thanks to law enforcement, retraining of wildlife rangers, community participation and adoption of surveillance technology.

"These interventions led to 85 percent reduction in rhino poaching and 78 percent reduction in elephant poaching in 2017," said Balala adding that Kenya lost 69 elephants and 9 rhinos to poaching last year.