As a result, two Hong-Kong citizens were arrested.
The two alleged smugglers were arrested after 6 rhino horn were discovered in one man’s travel bag by SARS Customs officials. An inspection of a second travel bag led to the discovery of 4 more horns.
“The arrest of the two individuals who were flying out of South Africa to Hong Kong is further confirmation of the success of the multi-disciplinary law enforcement effort being undertaken to combat rhino poaching and wildlife crime under the umbrella of the Integrated Strategic Management of Rhinoceros,” says Dr Edna Molewa- minister of Environmental Affairs.
Alarmingly, in the past two months 50 people have been arrested, and 13 rhino horn, two elephant tusks and 19 hunting rifles recovered during operations directed at ending rhino poaching countrywide.
Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga has been the hardest hit with Rhino poaching because of its neighbourhood to Mozambique, were most of poachers are alleged to originate from.
“The multi-disciplinary approach to battling rhino poaching has delivered a number of successes.
Working in collaboration with our partners in government – the SA Police Service, SARS, State Security Agency, and the Departments of Justice and Correctional Services, and Defence – we are able to report that our efforts to end poaching are starting to deliver results,” said the Minister.
The matter is being investigated by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations.
