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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.

Three men accused of dealing in or possessing two elephant tusks at Walvis Bay last year denied guilt on the charges they are facing during an appearance in the Walvis Bay Magistrate's Court on Thursday.

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.

Given Namibia's poaching crisis, an education and awareness advocacy campaign is critical in order to develop strengthened community ownership and responsibility over wildlife.

Police reservists at Karibib intercepted a group of poachers, who had killed two oryx at Farm Albrechtshohe, but were only able to apprehend one of the four suspects.

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. 

A senior police ocer at Oshakati’s protected resources unit was the mastermind behind the poaching incidences which occurred in Etosha National Park last month.

China yesterday declared an immediate and “comprehensive” ban on the trade and consumption of wild animals, a practice believed to be responsible for the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

LAW enforcement agents last week cracked down on six individuals who were found in possession of pangolin skin.

Between 1 January and 31 December 2019, 155 suspects were arrested for being found in possession of pangolins or their parts, attempting to trade these, or aiding and abetting those charged with possession or trafficking. During the same year, law enforcement officers in Namibia confiscated 121 pangolins. About 60% of the pangolins were dead. Most of the animals seized alive could be rehabilitated and released back into the wild.

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.

An 80-year-old Chinese man who has lived in Namibia for more than 17 years was granted N$180 000 bail in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court last week, after he was arrested for being in illegal possession of one rhino horn and 60 pieces of raw elephant tusks, a leopard head skin and one cheetah hide.

Two French tourists who were arrested in Tsumkwe for the possession of pieces of elephant tusk about two weeks ago were on Thursday found guilty in the Grootfontein Magistrate's Court.

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.

The Namibian Police last week seized an array of wildlife products comprising elephant tusks, kudu horns and hides, civet skin and warthog carcasses, amongst others.

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.

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).

Two men were arrested for being found in possession of 100 pieces of ivory, a summary of wildlife crime statistics from 30 September to 6 October details.

A business man based in northern Namibia who is charged over the poaching of two rhinos near Etosha National Park is facing an extended stay in jail, after his appeal against being denied bail failed in the Windhoek High Court last week.

While two suspects in a multimillion-dollar rhino-horn theft case were released on bail this week, an alleged poaching kingpin was denied permission to appeal against the refusal of his bail application. Petrus Shihepo Shimuningeni has been fingered as the mastermind behind a poaching syndicate which targeted a private game farm near Etosha National Park in the Kunene Region, where at least 13 rhinos have been poached this year.

A 40-year-old suspected rhino poacher exchanged gunfire with a team of 15 Namibian Police officers and members of the Namibian Defence Force for nearly two hours on a farm outside Otavi on Sunday.

Two men appeared in the Walvis Bay Magistrate's Court on a charge of dealing in elephants tusks on Monday.

A 31-Year-old Zambian man was arrested yesterday arrested at Mukuyu village after he was found in possession of one elephant tusk and a rhino horn.

Meanwhile, the police have arrested 19 suspects in connection with wildlife crimes, and seized eight wildlife products since the start of August. According to a wildlife crime statistics report for this month issued by the Protected Resources Division of the Namibian Police yesterday, the wildlife products seized include four oryx carcasses, two live pangolins, a pangolin skin and a duiker.

Goods, among them rhino horns with a combined value of N$100 million, were stolen from a house in Outjo while the owner was away over the weekend. 

The Namibian Police Force (NamPol)'s Anti-Poaching Unit has since June this year arrested 48 people for alleged rhinoceros poaching crimes. Furthermore, about 22 of those arrested have appeared in the Okahao Magistrate's Court in Omusati Region during the month of July this year, while an unspecified small number of suspects were released, pending further police investigations into their cases.

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…

Ten suspects between the ages of 16 and 33 years were on Friday arrested at Kalkfeld settlement in the Otjiwarongo constituency on charges of illegal hunting and possession of game meat without a valid permit.

An instructor at Valombola Vocational Training Center in Ongwediva and a member of the Namibian Defence Force attached to the Otavi   military base, were on  Sunday arrested by the Oshikoto police for illegal hunting.

A Namibian Sun investigation in Kavango, where it is alleged Chinese national Hou 'Josy' Xuecheng and others are continuing with logging, has revealed frenetic activity before transport and export permits expire this Sunday. Hou has, however, again denied that he is continuing to harvest trees in the Kavango East Region. Sources close to his operation have made the claim that his company, New Force Logistics CC, is still harvesting trees for export via the Walvis Bay harbour.

Two men were arrested at Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi region on Wednesday after they were found in possession of four elephant tusks.

Two suspected poachers were arrested on Monday night after they were found in possession of a crocodile skin in Kongola area of the Zambezi region.

An illegal immigrant from Angola was part of a gang of three men arrested last week for poaching in the Otjimbingwe district in the Erongo region. An incident report by Erongo crime investigations coordinator Erastus Iikuyu indicated that Benicio Tavalu (40), an Angolan who only had an Angolan voter's card in his possession, was arrested with Namibians Simson Katambo (42) and Titus Kamati (26) last Thursday.

Government is tightening the noose on wildlife crime syndicates as the country's flora and fauna increasingly become endangered.

To raise awareness for rhino conservation, Namibian-born international model Behati Prinsloo has joined forces with Save The Rhino Trust Namibia (SRT). As part of her alliance with the organisation, she is launching a global campaign and is visiting Namibia this month, entrenching herself in the movement to protect the critically endangered black rhino species and preserve the population.

A man was denied bail on a charge of possession of six elephant tusks yesterday in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate's Court.

An elderly Chinese man who admitted that he had illegal wildlife products, including a rhinoceros horn, and a firearm in his possession at the start of last year was sentenced to pay fines totalling N$156 000 by the Windhoek Regional Court this week.

The bail application hearing of a man accused of being involved in the killing of a black rhino on a game reserve near Otjiwarongo last month, ended in a deadlock in court on Friday. The 30-year-old Eeno Anguwo was arrested at Omuthiya on 15 April after he was connected to a syndicate of poachers who allegedly shot and killed the rhino bull valued at N$800 000.

A chance encounter over 35 years ago changed the lives of two women after realising that they share the same passion for wildlife conservation.

There are worrying signs that Namibia's legendary wild game numbers may be plummeting.

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.

An iron fist should be used against people who commit crimes against endangered wildlife in Namibia, a judge commented in an appeal judgement handed down in the Windhoek High Court on Friday.

The bail application of businessman Petrus Shihepo Shimuningeni who was arrested in February this year for alleged rhino poaching, was turned down in the Outjo Magistrate's Court on Wednesday. Shimuningeni and his four co-accused, aged 25, 26, 27 and 32, appeared before Magistrate Peingondjabi Shipo who denied bail because it is not in the public interest or the interest of the administration of justice for bail to be granted.

A bail application hearing for a 35-year-old businessman linked to poached black and white rhinos at a private game farm near Etosha National Park in the Kunene Region is underway in the Outjo Magistrate's Court.

A suspected rhino poacher was trampled to death by an elephant and his body devoured by lions in South Africa's Kruger National Park, officials said Monday. South African rangers have recovered the skull of the man in the vast Kruger sanctuary, which has born the brunt of much of the country's poaching  crisis. According to a park spokesman, rangers were alerted after the victim's alleged accomplices told his family that he had been crushed to death by an elephant.

Namibia was commended for its efforts to address the challenges trafficking in wild fauna and flora pose to the country's natural resources and its social and economic development.