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Namibian Wildlife Crimes article archive

This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:

  • provide easy public access to published information and statistics
  • enable easy stakeholder access to articles
  • provide a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia

Public access to information is a vital component of ensuring community engagement in prevalent issues. Wildlife crime is one of the pressing environmental issues of our time.

Wildlife crime investigations are generally covert operations requiring utmost confidentiality to succeed. Investigations and prosecutions in complex cases may take months or even years to complete. For this reason, the information that can be released to the public without compromising cases is often limited. Nonetheless, the Namibian government strives to share as much information as possible with the public.

The Namibian media has welcomed this approach and regularly publishes statistics and feature articles on wildlife crime. These are entered into the database at regular intervals, creating a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia.

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Displaying results 1 - 13 of 13
Monday, 22 July 2024
Ombati C 2024. Two arrested with Sh1.9 million elephant tusks in Tigania.

Two suspected poachers were at the weekend arrested while in possession of six pieces of elephant tusks in Tigania East, Meru county. They had wrapped the tusks weighing 18.5 kilos in four sacks when police and Kenya Wildlife Service officials intercepted them. Police said the two were nabbed at Muriamburi Junction Mulika area on July 18, as they transported the same to a potential buyer aboard a motorcycle. The suspects will be charged with being in possession of wildlife trophies of endangered species, contrary to Section 92(4) of the Wildlife Conservation Management Act 2013…

Tuesday, 16 January 2024
Ombati C 2024. Policeman among two arrested with elephant tusks in Nairobi.

The police constable and a civilian had been arrested in Nairobi West and Eastleigh with the cargo on Sunday. They had tried to sell the trophies to Kenya Wildlife Service ocials who had posed as potential buyers.

Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Ombati C 2023. Kenya: Two arrested with 77kgs of elephant tusks worth Sh12m in Samburu.

Two men were on Tuesday arrested while trafficking 36 pieces of elephant tusks weighing 77 kilogrammes valued at Sh12 million in Maralal, Samburu county.

Friday, 6 October 2023
Duba S 2023. Two nabbed in Northern Cape for possession of protected plants.

The Springbok SAPS Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit (STESU) arrested two men who were driving a vehicle loaded with bags of Conophytum bilobum plants on the R382 road between Steinkopf and Port Nolloth.

Thursday, 5 October 2023
Duba S 2023. Rhino poacher handed 30 years for killing three rhinos in Kruger National Park.

An alleged rhino poacher has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars for killing three rhinos at Kruger National Park in Skukuza. Sydney Sibuyi, 40, was sentenced to thirty years of direct imprisonment in the Skukuza Regional Court on Thursday for poaching-related offences.

Thursday, 28 September 2023
Duba S 2023. Wildlife Crime: Northern Cape man fined R50,000 for trading in pangolin skin.

A Northern Cape man found with a pangolin skin at a truck stop on the N14 Road in Upington was sentenced to a fine of R50,000. Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Tebogo Thebe said that Zandray Dawids, 40, was arrested in January 2021 after being found with pangolin skin at a truck stop on N14 Road in Upington.

Thursday, 7 September 2023
Duba S 2023. Gauteng Hawks bust three men for illegal possession of elephant tusks.

The Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Johannesburg and K9 Unit Johannesburg arrested three men who were driving a Nissan Almera loaded with ivory tusks around the Bruma area in Johannesburg. Three suspects, aged between 33 and 35, were arrested on Wednesday in Bruma, Johannesburg, by members of the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Johannesburg and K9 Unit Johannesburg for the illegal possession of elephant tusks.

Thursday, 10 August 2023
Mohammed G 2023. Cairo airport customs officers foil attempt to smuggle ivory and drugs.

Cairo International Airport customs officers arrested two foreign passengers, from Lebanon and Spain, who had attempted to smuggle ivory and drugs, respectively, into the country. In the first case, customs officers manually inspected the luggage of a passenger arriving from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and found pieces of ivory - the hard, white material of elephant tusks - weighing 16 kg. Egyptian customs authorities said that it is prohibited to possess and trade ivory in accordance with Ministerial Resolution No.

Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Duba S 2023. Trio of rhino KNP poachers handed prison terms totalling over 100 years.

Zwelithini Mathebula 37, and Lucky Mhlongo 39, were sentenced to 34 years' imprisonment while their co-accused Teddy Dlamini 37, was sentenced to 39 years' imprisonment. NPA regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa, said that the three culprits were arrested in November 2019, along with their two co-accused who absconded after they were granted bail. The three were convicted of killing three rhinos, possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of a firearm, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of ammunition, and possession of a dangerous weapon.

Thursday, 19 January 2023
Duba S 2023. Hawks arrest pair who tried to sell them two elephant tusks they had with them.

Two suspects, aged of 43 and 44 years, appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on Thursday after they were arrested for being in possession of two elephant tusks they tried to sell to the officers. This followed information acquired by the Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Investigation team in Free State concerning the two suspects who were trying to sell the tusks in Bloemfontein.

Monday, 12 December 2022
Duba S 2022. Activists raise alarm over spike in rhino poaching cases since Covid restrictions lifted.

Cape Town - Anti-rhino poaching activist Wayne Bolton has called for stronger collaborative action from the government amid concern over rising rhino poaching cases. According to Bolton, rhino poaching across Africa saw a significant decrease during strict Covid-19 lockdowns, but as the restrictions loosened, poachers intensified their onslaught on the species, with South Africa being hardest hit.

Thursday, 25 November 2021
Hutchings M 2021. Almost 900kgs of South African rhino horns destined for Asian countries seized between 2014 and 2021.

The Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana has revealed that over the past 10 years, rhino horns weighing 865kg were seized during Sars Customs border operations between 2014 and 2021. Countries where rhino horns have been trafficked to include Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Dubai, Turkey and Nigeria.

Monday, 2 August 2021
Ombati C 2021. Kenya: Police arrest four suspects with Sh10 million elephant tusks.

Police said the four were found in possession of 19 pieces of the jumbo tusks. The tusks have a street value of Sh10 million.

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