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A man found guilty of illegally possessing elephant tusks in Tana River County has been sentenced to five years in prison or an alternative fine of Sh3 million, after a court upheld prosecution evidence linking him to wildlife trafficking. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) secured the conviction against Ahmed Guyo Hiddi, who was found guilty of unlawfully possessing elephant tusks in a case handled at the Garsen Law Courts.

Two people have been arrested for suspected wildlife trafficking following a multi-agency operation that led to the seizure of elephant tusks valued at about Sh11 million in Namanga. According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI), the suspects, Imani Manasi Msumbwa and Justin Mwalima, both Tanzanian nationals, in the company of a Kenyan suspect, Alton Jilaoneka, were caught off guard at a hotel where they were reportedly negotiating a sale.

A field ranger who allegedly hid two suspected poachers in his bakkie, appeared at the Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court where he was released on R15 000 bail. Bright Mashele, 36, the field ranger and his two accomplice, Collen Mathebula, 32, and Casper Mlambo, 30, were arrested on Saturday when they tried to enter the Kruger National Park through Numbi Gate. According to provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, police received information about some individuals who were orchestrating to enter the park to commit crime.

A Mozambican man, convicted for poaching, will spend the next 18 years in prison. Santos Baloyi, 31, was arrested after a rhino was killed at Kruger National Park in September. He was also convicted on charges of trespassing, contravention of the Immigration Act, possession of a dangerous weapon.

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.

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.