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.
From the investigations, it is believed that villagers in the area collude with people from other regions in trapping and killing the giraffe, while crossing the Mswakini and Kwakuchinja wildlife corridors.
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TAN_2022_06_Why giraffe killings are top on poachers hit list in Manyara_The Citizen.pdf | 494.31 KB |
Smugglers are getting more creative in the way they conceal contraband - such as rhino horn - out of South Africa.
The Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday sentenced 61-year-old Maliko Mndekano Mwale to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour for illegal possession of ivory. Mwale was found guilty of possession and dealing in government trophy contrary to Section 86 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act of 2017. Public Relations Officer for Lingazi Police Station Sub Inspector Salomy Zgambo has confirmed the conviction of Maliko Mndekano Mwale.
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MAL_2022_05_Man gets 10 years in jail for illegal possession of ivory_Malawi24.pdf | 402.77 KB |
Police in Mchinji have arrested two men for allegedly being found in possession of a live Pangolin. The two have been identified as Mavuto Jophris aged 33 and Mandera Masauso aged 34. The arrest of the two suspects follows a tip off police received on May 12, 2022 that the two were offering for sell a live Pangolin which was concealed in an empty sack and placed in a backpack.
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MAL_2022_05_Two found with pangolin in Mchinji_Malawi24.pdf | 163.63 KB |
More than 30kg of rhino horn was seized from a female passenger at OR Tambo International Airport after customs officials received a tip-off. But this is by far not the biggest haul - one delivery headed for Malaysia was just shy of 170kg. SARS says more 450kg of rhino horn has been seized from would-be smugglers at OR Tambo alone since mid-2020.
Four people have been arrested for trying to sell a pangolin for R250 000. They were arrested at a North West mall while attempting to find a buyer. The pangolin was found in their car and taken to safety.
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SA_2022_04_Four bust at North West mall trying to sell pangolin for R250 000_News24.pdf | 346.36 KB |
Four suspected poachers have been arrested. Two were found in the Kruger National Park on Monday and the other two were arrested on Tuesday. This week, two other men were sentenced to 19 years in prison after they were arrested for poaching.
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SA_2022_04_4 men arrested in connection with separate Kruger National Park poaching incidents_News24.pdf | 353.27 KB |
Two men have been sentenced to 44 years' imprisonment for rhino poaching. They have also been found guilty of possession of four rhino horns. Their sentences will run concurrently.
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SA_2022_04_Two men sentenced to 44 years imprisonment for rhino poaching_News24.pdf | 366.92 KB |
As the cases of wildlife crime are on rise, Lilongwe Wildlife Trust has trained journalists in the country to follow and report court case procedures on Wildlife crimes accurately and in a professional manner.
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MAL_2022_03_Journalists trained to report wildlife stories accurately_Malawi24.pdf | 433.89 KB |
Five people found guilty of rhino poaching and related charges were handed down sentences ranging from 16 years to 18 years behind bars.
Namwera Police Post in Mangochi has arrested Alex Jumbe, 50, for being found with a Pangolin. Mangochi Police Publicist Amina Tepani Daudi said the suspect who hails from Nakapa Village, Traditional Authority Bwananyambi in Mangochi was apprehended on March 16, 2022 at Mwambwanjira Trading Centre. Daudi added that Namwera Police detectives were tipped by members of the community that the suspect was offering for sale the listed species at the trading centre.
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MAL_2022_03_Man arrested over Pangolin in Mangochi_Malawi24.pdf | 399.01 KB |
Two rhino poachers have been sentenced to an effective 19 years' imprisonment for a 2019 poaching incident in the Kruger National Park. The Regional Court in Skukuza in Mpumalanga sentenced Micheal Chauke, 57, and Americo Mathonsi, 59, on Thursday. The men were found to have killed two rhinos on 22 May 2019, said police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli.
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SA_2022_02_Poachers handed effective 19_year sentence for killing two rhinos_News24.pdf | 664.84 KB |
United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator Malawi Rudolf Schwenk says the increased trends in poaching of animals such as elephants and pangolins in Malawi is very worrying and if left unaddressed, wildlife trafficking will continue to be a threat to achievement of sustainable development in the country.
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MAL_2022_02_UN says wildlife crime in Malawi needs to be fully addressed_malawi24.pdf | 395.75 KB |
The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment has confirmed that 24 rhinos carcasses have been found in South Africa since the beginning of December.
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SA_2021_12_24 rhinos killed in South Africa since beginning of December_The Citizen.pdf | 355.73 KB |
A police sting operation has led to the arrest of two Gauteng men who allegedly tried to sell a lion's head in the North West. The men were arrested after a police agent intercepted their plan. They were allegedly looking for a traditional healer to buy the animal's head for R350 000.
Poachers have turned to snare trapping to capture animals in the Kruger National Park, including some endangered species, and use poisoned carcases to lure them. Many of the trapped animals die and their carcasses rot. Rangers and other officials have been combing through the 19 485 km² Kruger National Park, which houses the country's Big Five, in search of injured and trapped animals. Poachers have targeted almost all sections of the park. Wild dogs, lions and small antelopes are some of the animals that have been trapped.
A wildlife nature reserve covering Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Angola will undertake a loose elephant census next year at the cost of $3 million. The aerial survey by the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) directorate will help in managing elephants that freely roam across member states. "The elephant population of KAZA represents more than 50% of the remaining savanna elephants (Loxodonta Africana) found in Africa, a species recently listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as globally endangered.
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SA_2021_11_Census to shed light on elephant population in southern Africa_News24.pdf | 327.21 KB |
Mangochi Police have arrested Group Village Headman Maundu aged 49 and Rashid White Jusa, 55, over possession of pangolin.
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MAL_2021_10_Two arrested for possessing Pangolin in Mangochi_Malawi 24_Malawi news.pdf | 882.8 KB |
Five men have been arrested in the Western Cape in connection with the illegal possession of more than 5 600 succulents. The arrests were the result of an integrated operation between the police, Malmesbury Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit and Cape Nature, said police spokesperson Sergeant Luqmaan Adams on Thursday. "The suspects were arrested after they were stopped and searched on the N7 close to Vanrhynsdorp.
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SA_2021_10_Five arrested for allegedly poaching Western Cape succulents_News24.pdf | 269.77 KB |
Three men accused of rhino poaching have each been sentenced to an effective 35 years in jail. They were found in possession of rhino horn valued at R1.5 million. The accused were found to have killed three female rhinos in 2018.
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SA_2021_10_Three poachers get an effective 35 years behind bars for killing 3 female rhinos_News24.pdf | 431.48 KB |
Three poachers were sentenced to a cumulative 85 years imprisonment on charges relating to a rhino poaching incident at the Pilanesberg Game Reservice in the North West. On 2 July 2018, the trio were trying to leave the game reserve in the North West in a white Ford bakkie loaded with stolen rhino horns valued at R1.5 million. Their bail application was denied and they remained in police custody until the completion of the trial.
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SA_2021_10_Three rhino poachers sentenced to 85 years imprisonment_The Citizen.pdf | 430.25 KB |
South African scientists are studying ways to inject radioactive material into rhino horns to make them easier to detect at border posts, a move to discourage poaching, a researcher said on Friday. Poachers killed at least 249 rhinos in South Africa during the first six months of the year - 83 more than in the first half of 2020. The animals are slaughtered for their horns, which are smuggled into Asia where they are highly prized for traditional and medicinal purposes.
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SA_2021_09_Radioactive rhino horns may deter poachers in SA_The Citizen.pdf | 420.16 KB |
The South African Police Service on Saturday welcomed the sentences handed down to three poachers for charges relating to the killing of rhinos in the Kruger National Park.
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SA_2021_09_Hefty sentence handed down to three poachers_The Citizen.pdf | 544.89 KB |
Police in the Overberg region of the Western Cape confiscated abalone with an estimated street value of R2.4 million on Thursday night.
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SA_2021_09_Police seize abalone in the Western Cape worth about R2_4 million_The Citizen.pdf | 370.36 KB |
Free State police are on the hunt for poachers who killed and dehorned two white rhinos and injured a third at a farm in Steynsrus. Police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele said a case of rhino poaching was registered in terms of Section 57 of the Bioversity Act 10 of 2004 "after two rhino bulls were killed and one injured in Geduldfontein Farm". "The value of the two killed rhino bulls is R800 000," Makhele added.
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SA_2021_08_Poachers kill and dehorn two white rhinos on Free State farm_injure a third_News24.pdf | 320.73 KB |
Customs officers of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) seized 32 pieces of rhino horn, weighing 160kg, at a cargo transit shed at the OR Tambo International Airport on Saturday, 17 July.
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SA_2021_07_Rhino horn weighing 160kg seized at OR Tambo_The Citizen.pdf | 630.93 KB |
Eight suspected abalone poachers were arrested close to Robben Island on Wednesday morning by Border Police stationed at Cape Town harbour According to a statement by the police, on Tuesday evening, law enforcement started with random vessel patrols in the bay and around Robben Island during a dark moon and calm sea conditions. The 920 shucked abalone seized had an estimated street value of R345 000.
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SA_2021_07_Suspected abalone poachers arrested near Robben Island_The Citizen.pdf | 3.71 MB |
Olivia the pangolin's alleged poachers will have to remain behind bars until June after their case was postponed.The pangolin pulled through the weekend and was in a stable condition after being rescued from three alleged poachers at a Shell garage on the N1 road in Midrand last Friday.
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SA_2021_05_Midrand pangolin poaching case delayed_The Citizen.pdf | 422.02 KB |
While it was initially thought that the Rhino may have been shot, the post mortem team established that the rhino died of natural causes (fighting).
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SA_2021_05_SANParks takes legal action over sensationalised reports of dead rhino_The Citizen.pdf | 616.25 KB |
Three alleged pangolin poachers were bust red-handed and arrested when they tried to sell an animal to a "potential client" at a Shell garage on the N1 in Midrand on Friday. Olivia was the seventh pangolin rescued this year from poachers.
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SA_2021_05_PICS Alleged poachers caught trying to sell pangolin in Midrand_The Citizen.pdf | 808.19 KB |
A gruesome discovery by a group of tourists on a night-drive in Kruger National Park earlier this month has raised questions about how a rhino died. The tourists spotted a man emerging from bushes holding a horn dripping with blood, chopped from a critically-endangered Black rhino carcass, just 15m away. He and another man, dressed in what appeared to be a uniform, have subsequently been confirmed by SANParks to be employed by the park.
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SA_2021_05_SANParks criticised after tourists find employee_The Citizen.pdf | 952.94 KB |
Two people have been arrested in Mulanje for being found with pangolin, a protected animal which is trafficked for its scales.
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MAL_2021_05_Two arrested over pangolin possession_Malawi 24_Malawi news.pdf | 876.07 KB |
Two men allegedly desperately trying to find a buyer for a rhino horn appeared in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on Monday. Jeremy Perring, 36, and Keanon Tereblanche, 27, were arrested at a beachfront restaurant in possession of a rhino horn on Friday. The two were each released on R3 000 bail and the case has been postponed to 29 April.
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SA_2021_02_Two in court for allegedly trying to sell a rhino horn_News 24.pdf | 478.83 KB |
The 18-pieces haul, destined for Malaysia, was found concealed in traditional clothing. The Hawks have conscated a shipment of rhino horns worth more than R53 million at OR Tambo International Airpot on Thursday, destined for Malaysia. This after the customs unit of the South African Revenue Service (Sars) at the airport bust the rhino horn after the detector dog unit selected a suspicious shipment declared as "HP Cartridges Developers", according to the statement from Sars.
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SA_2021-02_Sars busts R53 million worth of rhino horns at OR Tambo_The Citizen.pdf | 194.8 KB |
A 36-year-old man appeared at the Kempton Park Regional Court on Monday, 18 January, after being arrested for illegal dealing in rhino horns. Kelvin Chigwede - who was arrested on Saturday - was charged for illegal dealing in rhino horns and contravention of the National Environmental Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) according to Hawks’ spokesperson Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu.
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SA_2021-01_Man appears in court for illegal dealing in rhino horns_The Citizen.pdf | 257.26 KB |
Three SA National Parks (SANParks) employees, among them two security guards, have been arrested in possession of fresh rhino horns outside the gates of the Kruger National Park. SANParks said the third person arrested is in technical services.
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SA_2020-10_SANParks employees arrested with rhino horns outside gates of Kruger Park_The Citizen.pdf | 222.89 KB |
Interactive software that 'reads' and analyzes footprints left by black rhinoceroses can be used to monitor the movements of the animals in the wild, giving conservationists a new way to keep watch on the endangered species and help keep it safe from poachers, according to a new study.
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Nam_2020_09_New tracking technology will help fight rhino poaching in Namibia.PDF | 105.23 KB |
Considering the amount of effort and funds that go into arresting a suspected poacher, and seeing court proceedings through, cases such as this take a signicant toll on the people involved in seeking justice.
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The Citizen_2020-08_Light sentences for poachers take toll on anti_poaching rangers_The Citizen.pdf | 201.88 KB |
The arrests were carried out by the Malmesbury Stock Theft Unit, Vredendal Crime Intelligence and members of the Cape Nature Reserve.
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SA_2020-05_Four caught in possession of a rhino horn and protected plants_The Citizen.pdf | 653.23 KB |
Police say a tip-off led to the arrest of the suspect who was allegedly trying to sell the pangolin in the Musina CBD.
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SA_2020-05_Suspect arrested for selling dead pangolin in Limpopo_The Citizen.pdf | 394.21 KB |