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Johannesburg - The Wildlife Justice Commission has heralded the conviction of four for the trafficking of pangolin scales and ivory as a "ground-breaking" move that has laid bare the modus operandi of the criminal networks trafficking wildlife commodities. The commission made the announcement following the conclusion of the trial against three Vietnamese and one Guinean national who were arrested by the Nigeria Customs Service in May 2022 for trafficking 7.1 tonnes of pangolin scales and 850 kilograms of ivory. Phan Viet Chi, Phan…

Four suspects are expected in the Atlantis Magistrate's court after they were nabbed with abalone in their car following a high speed chase at the weekend. Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said the Atlantis Crime Prevention Unit responded to information early Saturday morning. “When they located the suspicious vehicle, they ordered the driver to stop.

Johannesburg - Two suspects were arrested in Gqeberha on Friday after their vehicle was found loaded with 3275 units of wet abalone. It is estimated that the abalone is worth R3 million.

The Hawks in Springbok arrested a duo for being in possession of Conophytum with an estimated value of R168,435. Two suspects, aged 22 and 28, were arrested on Thursday, by a multiple disciplinary team composed of Springbok DPCI, Upington counter-narcotics, Steinkopf SAPS, and Namakwa public order policing.

Durban - The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) arrested a 35-year-old man for dealing in a protected species without a permit. Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo said that on Thursday Hawks members from Port Shepstone Serious Organised Crime Investigation arrested Sifiso Magagula for dealing in African pangolin without a permit.

Durban - A 45-year-old man convicted of rhino poaching was sentenced to 28 years in prison by the Empangeni Regional Court.

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.

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.

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.

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.