This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:
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.
Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.
Durban - Two suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday after the Hawks arrested them for being in possession of two ‘recently extracted’ rhino horns, while travelling from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng.
Cape Town - SANParks Honorary Rangers is hard at work to stop rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park and all SANParks areas with assistance and collaboration from Rhino Tears, a wine brand, that donates towards the rangers with every bottle sold.
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SA_2022_06_Rhino Tears Wine helping to fight the war on rhino poaching_IOL.pdf | 1.09 MB |
A Kenyan has pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic in rhino horns and elephant ivory in a in Manhattan Federal Court. According to Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Mansur Mohamed Surur was involved in the illegal poaching of more than approximately 35 rhinoceros and more than 100 elephants.
Durban - A 45-year-old man convicted of rhino poaching was sentenced to 28 years in prison by the Empangeni Regional Court.
Malambo was found with 22 pieces of raw ivory, weighing 64.905 kilograms valued at about MK53 million at Mwami Border Total Filling Station in Mchinji in February 2021, which led to his arrest.
The 41-year-old man was arrested by members of the South African Police Service while trying to board a flight to Singapore. A security official at the airport alerted police to suspicious-looking items in the suspect’s hand luggage. Upon further investigation and interrogation of the suspect, police found that the suspect was carrying rhino horn weighing 26kg in his carry-on bag.
Durban - with the number of rhinos killed for their horns in KwaZulu-Natal Ezemvelo Wildlife reserves this year set to surpass poaching deaths for the past two years, a report has been released on what should be done to protect the endangered species. The report was compiled six years ago by a task team that investigated the scourge of rhino poaching and recommended that Ezemvelo beef up its intelligence capacity to combat the crime. It said such an investigation unit could help police and prosecutors secure convictions against those implicated in poaching.
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SA_2022_05_Rhino poaching report recommended stronger intelligence capacity_IOL.pdf | 585.38 KB |
The contraband represents 80 to 100 slaughtered elephants. Officers discovered the smuggled tusks aboard trucks in the city of Lubumbashi on Saturday, according to a legal official who declined to be named due involvement in an ongoing investigation into the affair. Police arrested five people but two fled after questioning, the official said. He added that the haul amounted to 1.5 tonnes. Both the origin and intended final destination of the ivory remain unclear.
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DRC_2022_05_1_5 tonnes of elephant ivory seized in southeast DR Congo_IOL.pdf | 597.16 KB |
Commissioned six years ago and kept under lock and key by the Office of the KZN Premier until now, the hidden report into rhino poaching in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has been partially released to the Democratic Alliance (DA) following extensive pressure. At last count, rhino poaching figures this year so far (just over four months) have surpassed the total for 2021, with 108 rhino killed by poachers for their horns which are smuggled to countries like China and Vietnam.
Durban: Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has expressed disappointment after a man caught with a rhino horn without a permit, received a suspended sentence in court this week.
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SA_2022_05_KZN man pleads guilty to rhino horn charges_escapes jail_IOL.pdf | 444.19 KB |
Durban - Since the beginning of the year, 106 rhinos have already been poached according to KwaZulu-Natal Economic Development, Tourism, and Environmental Affairs (Edtea) MEC Ravi Pillay. In a statement on Saturday, Pillay said this comes after a total of 93 rhinos were poached in KZN parks in 2020 and 102 were poached last year.
Last year, 97 rhinos were poached in Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife reserves in 2021. Between January 1 and March 25 this year, 61 have been killed. According to some reports, the tally for the year so far is at least 75.
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SA_2022_05_Surge in rhino poaching in KZN unexplained_IOL.pdf | 2.19 MB |
On April 1 the number of rhinos poached in Hluhluwe-uMfolozi Park, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), since the 1st of January was 60. It's just one month later, and that already horrific number has shockingly jumped to 94 (actually 95, as of yesterday). Imagine how many rhinos will now not be born because of those that have been killed in Hluhluwe-uMfolozi just this year! Every rhino counts.
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SA_2022_05_95 Rhinos Poached in Hluhluwe_uMfolozi Park So Far in 2022_SAPeople.pdf | 480.95 KB |
Durban - A total of 61 rhinos were killed for their horns in KwaZulu-Natal between January 1, 2022, and March 25, 2022.
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SA_2022_04_61 rhinos butchered for their horns in three months in KZN_IOL.pdf | 401.69 KB |
Four traffickers have been arrested for trafficking in ivory tusk, pangolin, and chimpanzee.
Pretoria - The Skukuza Regional Court has sentenced two rhino poachers to an effective 19 years in jail, after the two Mozambican nationals were arrested last month inside the Kruger National Park.
Limpopo game farmer Dawie Groenewald and his co-accused were arrested about 12 years ago on a multitude of rhino poaching-related charges, yet their criminal trial has yet to start.
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SA_2022_04_Rhino horn trade case delayed again 12 years after arrest of suspects_IOL.pdf | 669.78 KB |
At least 71 rhino have been poached this year alone in Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife parks, putting KZN on the road to the species facing extinction in the region within the next five years!
State prosecutors from 11 East African countries have vowed to tighten their cross border cooperation and tackle money launder crimes and other emerging transnational crimes.
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EAST AFRICA_2022_03_ Regional Prosecutors Pledge to Crack Down on Wildlife Crimes_allAfrica_com.pdf | 241.34 KB |
A 40-year-old Mozambican national, Brian Phiri, has been sentenced after being convicted for poaching by the Skukuza Regional Court in Mpumalanga.
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SA_2022_03_Seven years in jail for poacher cornered in the Kruger National Park_IOL.pdf | 511.86 KB |
Cape Town - Poaching continues to decimate the rhino population with 451 rhinos poached in South Africa last year, 327 of them from government reserves and 124 from private property.
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SA_2022_03_Rhino poaching_the trade and the convictions_IOL.pdf | 382.22 KB |
A wildlifetrafficker has been sentenced to more than a year in prison by the BertouaCourt of First Instance for trafficking in pangolin scales.
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CAM_2022_03_A Wildlife Trafficker Sentenced to More Than a Year in Prison_allAfric_com.pdf | 108.79 KB |
Cape Town - Yet another suspect has been nabbed for alleged dealing in succulent plants. A 49-year-old suspect was arrested at the Cape Town International Airport on Friday following a police tip-off that he was going to export two boxes of endangered succulents.
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SA_2022_03_Suspected succulent plant poacher arrested_IOL.pdf | 162.14 KB |
Zimparks rangers stumbled upon a decomposing elephant carcass suspected to have fallen victim to cyanide poisoning in Lupane.
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ZIM_2022_03_Poachers use cyanide to kill jumbo in Lupane_allAfrica_com.pdf | 111.09 KB |
South African National Parks (SANParks) today, 19 March 2022, welcomed the sentence meted out by the Skukuza Regional Court to a man convicted on 12 counts associated with poaching. The accused, Mike Nyathi, a 39 year old Mozambican man with a South African citizenship, faced 14 charges relating to two separate cases of rhino poaching.
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SA_2022_03_Rhino Poacher in Kruger Park Handed 53 Years Jail Sentence_SAPeople.pdf | 401.03 KB |
Amidst the growing devastating impact of climate change on the Nigerian environment, conservation efforts are being threatened by trafficking of wildlife.
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NIG_2022_03_Concerns as wildlife trafficking continues in Nigeria_allAfrica_com.pdf | 282.02 KB |
Pretoria - A 29-year-old man has been arrested at the Skukuza Game reserve after he was allegedly found with equipment that is used for poaching, police said on Tuesday.
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SA_2022_03_Poaching suspect arrested in Skukuza Game reserve_IOL.pdf | 403.02 KB |
Pretoria - Sixty dogs have been dispatched across the Kruger National Park to help curb poaching. The almost 2 million-hectare park has a major problem with poachers targeting rhinos, lions and elephants.
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SA_2022_03_Sixty dogs dispatched across Kruger National Park to help curb poaching_IOL.pdf | 397.74 KB |
On this material day, Mangochi Police detectives were tipped by members of the community that the said suspects were possessing the listed species (Pangolin) at the said house looking for buyers.
Our analysis of wildlife crimes data, supported by numerous interviews, finds evidence of systematic failure by Nigerian law enforcement and the judicial system to hold wildlife poachers and traffickers accountable.
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NIG_2022_03_Inside Nigerias shocking wildlife crimes and how culprits escape justice_allafrica_com.pdf | 515.28 KB |
Pretoria - The Tembisa Regional Court has convicted and sentenced 49-year-old Ping Wu to five years direct imprisonment for money laundering. Spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi, said in April 2019, the Hawks serious organised crime investigation team based in Middelburg registered an undercover investigation into allegations of illegal trade in rhino horn. "The scope of the project was to address a syndicate in Gauteng who were illegally dealing in rhino horns," said Sekgotodi.
Officers of Mozambique's National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) have seized eleven elephant tusks in a house in the western city of Tete, according to a report in Sunday's on-line issue of the independent daily "O Pais".
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MOZ_2022_02_ Eleven Elephant Tusks Seized in Tete_allAfrica_com.pdf | 267.8 KB |
Pretoria - A 48-year-old woman was arrested on Thursday in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, after she was found in possession of 29 rhino horns with an estimated street value of R6 million.
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SA_2022_02_Woman arrested in Bedfordview with 29 rhino horns worth R6m_IOL.pdf | 305.7 KB |
Durban - The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) Minister Barbara Creecy has revealed that a total of 451 rhinos were poached in South Africa last year. Creecy said 327 rhinos were poached within government reserves and 124 were poached on private property.
Pretoria - The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said transparency and regular communication about the status of rhino and rhino poaching is vital to track the impact of efforts made to conserve rhinos and reduce the impacts of the illegal wildlife trade. WWF was responding to the release of the rhino poaching numbers for 2021 by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) on Tuesday. The DFFE said as many as 451 rhino were poached in South Africa last year - 327 within government reserves and 124 on private property.
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SA_2022_02_WWF responds to South African rhino poaching figures_IOL.pdf | 239.01 KB |
Rumphi Police in north Malawi have arrested six for illegal possession of a live pangolin.
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MAL_2022_01_Police Arrest Six Men for Illegal Pangolin Possession_allAfrica_com.pdf | 106.51 KB |
A court in Mozambique has sentenced the leader of a poaching gang to 30 years in prison on Wednesday. The man was convicted of the crimes of poaching, illegal possession of weapons and association to commit offences, the ministry said in a statement, noting that he had also been sentenced to pay a fine of 1 percent of minimum wage for 28 years, news website Club of Mozambique wrote. The accused was arrested on May 3, 2021, "when he was returning from an attempt to hunt rhinoceros for the second time illegally", authorities said.
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MOZ_2022_01_Mozambique court sentences poaching boss to 30 years_IOL.pdf | 311.71 KB |
Cape Town - Police in the Northern Cape have arrested five suspects for the possession of protected plants worth over R600 000. According to the provincial police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Sergio Kock, offcers attached to the Springbok Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit, Springbok K9 unit and the Springbok Highway Patrol arrested five male suspects along the N14 highway near Springbok on Thursday.
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SA_2022_01_Five arrested for possession of protected plants worth R600 000_IOL.pdf | 174.81 KB |
Cape Town - Nine suspects are expected to appear in the Goodwood Magistrate's Court soon after they were found to be in possession of protected plants. According to the Northern Cape's provincial police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Sergio Kock, police members from the Springbok and Kuilsriver Stock Theft and Endangered Species Units (STESU) successfully conducted a joint buy and bust operation.
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SA_2022_01_Nine Northern Cape suspects bust in Cape Town for possession of protected plants_IOL.pdf | 158.5 KB |
The chairman of the Pangolin Conservation Guild of Nigeria (PCGN), Prof Olajumoke Morenikeji, has lamented that developed countries have turned Nigeria into a hotspot for wildlife trafficking, describing it as a shame. She noted that wildlife trafficking "is a multi-billion naira illicit act" that has been depleting indigenous animal species in the Nigerian environment.
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NIG_2021_12_Nigeria now hotspot for wildlife trafficking_Pangolin Chairman_allAfrica_com.pdf | 210.94 KB |
The US on Monday announced visa restrictions on eight DR Congo nationals involved in wildlife trafficking, in the latest whip on supposed illegal revenues fuelling conflict in the central African nation. The eight people, believed to be connected business and political players in the country, are accused of having a hand in trafficking of ivory, pangolin scales and rhino horn; products of endangered species.
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CON_2021_12_ US imposes visa ban on 8 linked to wildlife trafficking_allAfrica_com.pdf | 252.23 KB |
Cape Town - Four suspects were arrested by police for the poaching of five rhinos at a private game reserve. Police spokesperson Wesley Twiggs said the four arrested suspects were expected to appear in Ceres Magistrate’s Court after they have been charged. Five rhinos were attacked by poachers at Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve just outside Cape Town last week. Four of the rhinos were killed while the fifth rhino survived a gunshot to the face.
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SA_2021_12_Four suspects to appear in Ceres court for the poaching of five Inverdoorn rhinos_IOL.pdf | 569.08 KB |
The Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court on Wednesday re-sentenced "Queen of Ivory," Chinese Yang Feng Clan and two Tanzanians to 15 years imprisonment each for leading organized crime on 860 pieces of elephant tusks, which are government trophies, valued at over 13bn/-.
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TAN_2021_12_Court Re_Sentenced _Queen of Ivory to 15 Years in Jail_allAfrica_com.pdf | 162.18 KB |
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.
Durban - Environmental organisations have welcomed the arrest of two suspects found in possession of ivory with a street value of R400 000 in Ballito last week. It is alleged that the suspects were trying to sell elephant tusks and were arrested after an undercover operation.
Pretoria - Two German nationals are appearing in court on Monday, after being arrested near Askham, Northern Cape for the illegal trade and possession of reptiles and controlled substances. The men were nabbed while illegally catching and trading in reptiles, including Armadillo girdled lizards which are a threatened and protected species, geckos and tortoises in the Northern Cape "with the intention to smuggle them" out of South Africa into the lucrative international exotic pet trade.
Cape Town - Game rangers, vets, casino staff, construction and transport industry workers, as well as customs and other government officials, have been identified as role-players in the ecosystem of illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products according to a report by the South African Anti-Money Laundering Integrated Task Force.
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SA_2021_11_Report Identifies Role_Players in South African Wildlife Crime_allAfrica_com.pdf | 159.34 KB |
Durban - Two suspects were arrested in the posh Zimbali Eco Estate, on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, for dealing in elephant tusks.
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SA_2021_11_Two suspects arrested in posh Zimbali Eco Estate for dealing in elephant tusks_IOL.pdf | 506.11 KB |
Durban: Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife said the search was on for a suspected poacher, who may jumped into St Lucia Lake to avoid arrest.
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SA_2021_11_Missing suspected poacher may have jumped into St Lucia Lake to avoid arrest_IOL.pdf | 310.71 KB |
The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment has welcomed the hefty sentences handed down by a North West court to three rhino poachers on Wednesday. The Mogwase regional court handed down sentences of 85 years each to Mozambican nationals Arlindo Muhlanga, Adam Hlongwane and Gamula Chauke. The men were arrested in 2018 after the poaching and dehorning of three white rhino cows in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve.
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SA_2021_10_Department welcomes hefty sentences imposed on three rhino poachers_Times Live.pdf | 370.12 KB |