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Nine suspects were arrested in connection with wildlife crimes and four new cases were registered last week. Four of the suspects were arrested in connection with rhino poaching or trafficking, while one suspect was arrested and charged with elephant poaching. This is according to the latest statistics provided by the intelligence and investigation unit in the environment ministry and the protected resource division within the safety and security ministry. A total of seven wildlife products were seized, which included a rhino horn, five elephant tusks and a…

In its first global report on the illegal wildlife trade, the Financial Action Task Force (FAFT) has described it as a global threat with links to other organised crimes such as slavery, drug trafficking and the arms trade. The report expressed concern over the lack of focus on the financial aspects of wildlife crime and suggested that all member governments should apply money-laundering laws. The findings of the study are based on inputs from countries in 50 jurisdictions, including Namibia, which is a member of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering…

While only two new cases of wildlife crimes were reported recently, eight suspects were arrested and charged. At Katima Mulilo, Roster Mazila Mukendwa was arrested on 14 June for the illegal hunting of protected game. He was found in possession of a duiker carcass and charged with contravening the Nature Conservation Ordinance Act. In a separate incident, Gerhard Iyambo was arrested on 17 June at Okahao in connection with an old case, dating back to February, regarding conspiring to hunt a rhino. 

A total of five wildlife products were seized: two oryx carcasses, a pangolin skin and two aardvark carcasses.

A rhino horn, two elephant tusks, a pangolin skin and a crocodile skin were seized by the police last week. Thirteen suspects were arrested in connection with rhino poaching or trafficking and two for elephant poaching or trafficking. Five wildlife products were seized: a rhino horn, two elephant tusks, a pangolin skin and a crocodile skin.

An urgent application by self-proclaimed prophet Jackson Babi to, amongst others, review and set aside his arrest in connection with rhino poaching was withdrawn yesterday. The High Court application was filed by his lawyer Kadhila Amoomo on 4 June. However, Magistrate Linus Samunzala last week ordered Babi to be transferred to the Gobabis Magistrate's Court to appear on a charge of hunting specially protected game.

Ten wildlife products were seized, which included six rhino horns, two elephant tusks and two giraffe carcasses. A total of seven new wildlife crimes were reported recently, while 16 suspects were arrested. Eleven of the suspects were arrested in connection with rhino poaching and/or trafficking cases, while two others were arrested for elephant poaching and/or trafficking.

Followers of self-proclaimed prophet Jackson Babi yesterday formed a human shield around him during his latest appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court. Babi (30) left the court surrounded by his supporters, who pushed reporters away and grabbed cameras to prevent photos being taken of him. Although the matter was set down for a bail application yesterday, the defence decided to apply for bail at a later stage.

Four of the eight suspects arrested in connection with the alleged poaching of two rhino horns near Gobabis appeared in the Otjiwarongo Regional Court in camera yesterday.

Two elephants have been killed within a week of each other. One of the animals was killed during an illegal hunt, while the other was killed to address human-wildlife-conflict. It is suspected that an elephant found dead at a farm in the Ndonga Linena constituency in Kavango East last week was first shot somewhere else. The carcass of the elephant was discovered last Tuesday at Farm Nanava, approximately 90km southeast of Rundu.

Four suspects believed to be part of a rhino poaching gang were granted N$5 000 bail each last week. Three suspects were arrested last week for wildlife crimes in two separate cases. Two of the suspects were arrested in connection with elephant poaching and/or trafficking cases. This is according to information provided by the intelligence and investigation unit in the environment ministry and the protected resources division in the safety and security ministry. During operations, police also seized one firearm and four rounds of ammunition.

Eight wildlife products were seized, which included six elephant tusks and two leopard skins. Six suspects were arrested and charged for wildlife crimes recently, while three new cases were registered. Two of the suspects were arrested for rhino poaching and/or trafficking cases while two others were arrested for elephant poaching and/or trafficking cases.

Five of the suspects were arrested for rhino poaching and/or trafficking cases, while two wildlife products, five firearms and 63 rounds of ammunition were seized during operations.

For the second week, statistics indicate that only one wildlife crime has been recorded per week. The tightening of anti-poaching security measures during the coronavirus state of emergency is paying off, with only one new wildlife crime case registered last week, while two suspects were arrested.

A Chinese national was granted bail last week in a poaching case involving two rhino horns.

Sixteen suspects have been arrested in recent days in connection with wildlife crimes and six new cases were registered. According to police statistics ten wildlife products were confiscated, and five firearms and one vehicle were seized. The wildlife products included four pieces of elephant ivory, a pangolin skin, two duiker carcasses, an impala carcass and a warthog carcass. On 5 March two Zambians, an Angolan and a Namibian were arrested at Kongola for illegally hunting protected game.

A Namibian man was arrested last week at Rundu for being in possession of 611 pangolin scales, five pieces of skin and one whole pangolin skin. A total of nine suspects were arrested in connection with wildlife crimes last week and three new cases were registered.

Significant successes, including the arrest of 63 suspects for wildlife-related crimes, have been recorded by anti-poaching units in the Etosha National Park since February last year. This was revealed during a visit to Etosha by police inspector-general Sebastian Ndeitunga, environment minister Pohamba Shifeta and defence minister Penda Ya Ndakolo last Friday.

Six suspects were arrested in connection with wildlife crimes recently and three new cases were opened. This is according to statistics provided by the intelligence and investigation unit within the environment ministry and the protected resources unit in the safety and security ministry.

Thirteen suspects were arrested recently in connection with wildlife crimes, while five new cases were opened.  According to statistics released by the intelligence and investigation unit within the environment ministry and the protected resources division in the safety and security ministry, a total of three illegal wildlife products were also seized. 

Over the past ve years, there has been an overall decline in rhino and elephant poaching, with a major increase in arrests. This was shared yesterday by environment minister Pohamba Shifeta during his 2020 opening speech. Last year, a total of 45 rhinos were poached in comparison to 74 in 2018 and 55 in 2017. In 2016, 61 rhinos were poached, and 97 in 2015. According to Shifeta, two rhinos have been poached to date this year. As for elephants, 12 were poached last year, 27 in 2018 and 50 in 2017. In 2016, a total of 101 elephants were poached and 49 in 2015.

Several suspects, some of whom are repeat offenders, were arrested for wildlife crimes last week and five new cases were registered. According to statistics provided by police and the environment ministry, four wildlife products were also seized last week - one giraffe tail, a live pangolin, an eland carcass and one live tortoise. Of the nine suspects arrested, one is a Zambian national and the rest are Namibians. Two Namibians, Makushe Frans Limbare and Muronga Timoteus, were arrested last Tuesday at Ndiyona for the illegal hunting of an eland. 

Sixteen suspects were arrested in connection with wildlife crimes in the past week. Eight of the suspects are Namibians and the rest Zambians. Statistics provided by the Protected Resource Division of the Namibian police and the Intelligence and Investigation Unit of the environment ministry indicate that a total of 21 wildlife products were seized last week.

Namibia is among the countries with the lowest level of organised crime in Africa. This is according to a report by the Enact project, financed by the European Union (EU).

One-hundred pieces of elephant tusk were seized and two suspects were arrested in Katutura during an operation by the Blue Rhino Task Team last week.

A report that will be up for discussion at this week's World Wildlife Conference highlights inconsistencies in the exporting of rhino trophies from Namibia and says that 295 rhinos have been poached in Namibia between 2009 and 2018. It says the 44 rhinos that were poached in 2017 represented 1.5% of Namibia's rhino population. The 183 Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will adopt decisions and resolutions to expand and further strengthen the global wildlife trade regime at to be considered at the 18th…

A total of 19 suspects were arrested for wildlife crimes during August with six new cases that were registered this month. This is according to wildlife crime statistics compiled by the Intelligence and Investigation Unit in the environment ministry and the Protected Resources Division in the Namibian Police. Statistics show that out of the 19 suspects arrested, two suspects were arrested for rhino poaching and or trafficking crimes (including cases of conspiracy of rhino poaching).

A total of 19 suspects were arrested for wildlife crimes during August with six new cases that were registered this month. This is according to wildlife crime statistics compiled by the Intelligence and Investigation Unit in the environment ministry and the Protected Resources Division in the Namibian Police. Statistics show that out of the 19 suspects arrested, two suspects were arrested for rhino poaching and or trafficking crimes (including cases of conspiracy of rhino poaching). Furthermore wildlife products that were seized included two live pangolin, one…

Four Chinese men, who were originally handed 14-year sentences for wildlife crimes, including rhino horn  smuggling, had the shock of their lives when their appeal ended with the High Court also convicting and sentencing them for money laundering.

Countries that make up the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA) need to provide for specialist prosecutors that have knowledge about all wildlife crime-related legislation and the appropriate prosecution of offenders. This was the view of deputy environment minister Bernadette Jagger at the KAZA-TFCA Regional Judiciary and Prosecutors Workshop that is taking place in Windhoek. 

A Windhoek oncologist has been granted N$50 000 bail by the Windhoek Magistrate's Court after he was arrested at the weekend for the illegal possession of three elephant tusks.

The Chinese national who was arrested last month at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg after being caught with 18 rhino horns in his luggage has been denied bail. Ye Zhiwei, 28, appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate''s Court in South Africa on Tuesday on a charge of dealing in rhino horn under the Endangered Spices Act. South African Hawks spokesperson Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu confirmed to Namibian Sun that Ye was denied bail and that his case was postponed to 17 January for disclosure of evidence and for further investigation.

If rhino owners are not allowed to harvest and legally sell horns, poachers will kill every last rhino in Namibia. This is according to environment minister Pohamba Shifeta, who was speaking last week at a meeting where the poaching situation in the country was discussed. Shifeta said the price of a rhino horn has skyrocketed and is currently about N$900 000 per kilogram. "It is going up every day." He said if rhino range countries could sell rhino horns, the price will go down because the demand would still be there.

The Blue Rhino Taskforce has had phenomenal success in tracking down poaching syndicates in the four months of its existence.

The High Court has granted permission to four Chinese nationals to appeal against their 14-year prison sentences for trying to smuggle 14 rhino horns and a leopard skin out of Namibia. The permission was granted on Tuesday when Li Zhibing, 53, Li Xiaoliang, 30, Pu Xuexin, 49, and Wang Hui, 40, appeared before Deputy Judge President Hosea Angula. The four men were arrested between March and May 2014 in what has been termed Namibia’s largest rhino-horn-smuggling case. The men were each sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment by Windhoek Magistrate Alexis Diergaardt at…

While about 1 200 rhinos in Namibia are now in private care, the country is still experiencing high levels of poaching, with 29 rhinos poached this year already.

The minister of environment and tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, this week hosted a public discussion about rhino and elephant poaching at Ongwediva. It was highlighted that perpetrators of such crimes are part of Namibian society and are sometimes hidden by members of the community. The discussion was part of an information-sharing session by the ministry at the Ongwediva Trade Fair in the Oshana Region.

Rhino poaching in the northwest of Namibia has declined by 80% since it peaked in 2013. This is according to the CEO of Save the Rhino Trust (SRT), Namibia Simson Uri-Khob, who said that even though rhinos are still under threat, the organisation has been making great strides in protecting them in the northwest of the country. "Our tracking teams are dedicated and our intelligence unit is relentless in its pursuit of information that can be used to safeguard our rhinos, while our donors are supportive, which makes the statistics we have to share with you possible."

The environment ministry's anti-poaching unit has been in limbo for four years, awaiting budget allocations for appointments. Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda confirmed yesterday there have been no new recruitments to the unit since retired police commissioner Ndahangwapo Kashihakumwa was officially appointed as its head on 1 August last year. At that stage Kashihakumwa and seven other members were appointed to the vital unit. Muyunda said due financial constraints the ministry has been unable to recruit anyone else to the unit, which will eventually consist of…

The environment minister Pohamba Shifeta has expressed his concern with the change in tactics by would-be poachers.

Investigations are ongoing at a farm on the outskirts of Windhoek where a rhino was poached over the weekend and its horns removed. Two rhinos were shot on Friday on a farm located near Aris and one of them survived the attack.

This year a total of 27 rhinos and 20 elephants have been poached, indicating a significant decline in poaching when compared to previous years. Releasing the latest statistics of recorded poaching incidents of rhino and elephants for this year, the environment and tourism minister, Pohamba Shifeta, said rhino poaching had gone done down by about 50% from 2016. In 2016, a total of 60 rhino were poached while 95 rhino were poached in 2015 and 56 rhino in 2014.

Smuggling routes have become more convoluted as syndicates attempt to evade detection, a new report says. Namibia has been identified as a significant link in the international rhino-horn smuggling network. This follows a surge in rhino poaching in Namibia since 2013. Previously the country was not identified in this trafficking route. This is according to a rapid assessment of smuggling routes and techniques used in the illicit trade in African rhino horn.

Owners of white rhinos have been warned to be careful when employing workers. With increased anti-poaching efforts taking place in Namibia the trend of rhino poaching has shifted to black rhino under custodianship and privately owned white rhinos.

A teacher was among the suspects arrested for poaching this weekend in the Kunene Region, following the recent discovery of two rhino carcasses. This brings the total of poached rhinos in Namibia to 26 for the year compared to a total of 60 in 2016.

The ministry of environment and tourism has issued corrected statistics on wildlife crimes since 2014. Huge inconsistencies have been uncovered in the environment ministry's statistics on wildlife crimes, with conflicting statistics on the number of poaching suspects arrested. Last week, the ministry released figures on the nationalities of people arrested in wildlife crimes in Namibia between 2014 and 2017. These figures did not correspond with the figures issued to Namibian Sun in February during an exclusive interview with the environment minister. Upon…

Seven more rhinos have been killed by poachers in Etosha, driving the species ever closer to extinction. Seven rhino carcasses discovered during aerial patrols in the Etosha National Park at the weekend have been confirmed to have been poached. This brings the total of poached rhinos to 16 this year, while there have also been 16 elephants poached this year. Altogether 59 rhinos were poached in the country last year and 95 rhinos in 2015, 56 in 2014 and 9 in 2013.

Seven rhino carcasses of which several have already been confirmed to be poached, were discovered in the Etosha National Park this past weekend during routine patrols by officials of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda yesterday confirmed to Namibian Sun that during patrols in the park between 23 and 25 June seven rhino carcasses were discovered. "The carcasses are all believed to be for this year."

The bill, amongst others, proposes that foreigners who are found guilty of wildlife crimes will not be allowed back in Namibia after completing their jail terms. This will apply to foreigners who are found guilty of possession of, and dealing in, elephant and rhino products.