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Indonesia's Forestry Ministry has foiled an international wildlife trafficking operation involving a Chinese national attempting to smuggle parts of protected animals through North Sulawesi. The suspect, identified by the initials BQ, was caught with a cache of illegal animal parts including rhino horns, tiger fangs, and gall bladders. Dwi Januanto Nugroho, Director General of Law Enforcement at the Forestry Ministry, said the case is part of a broader crackdown on transnational wildlife crime.

Mozambican national Nelson Sandile Sambo has been jailed for 20 years for rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park. Sambo (43) was arrested by SA National Parks field rangers in December 2020 after he and an accomplice shot and then hacked off the horns of two rhinos in the Stolznek section of the park. Sambo and Gabriel Chauke were granted bail soon after their arrest, but both suspects promptly jumped bail. While Chauke remains at large, Sambo was re-arrested in 2023 and has now been jailed for 20 years after he pleaded guilty to several charges in the Skukuza Regional Court…

While drones were previously allowed under stringent regulations, their unauthorized use has become more frequent. As reported by African Travel and Tourism Association, this new measure aims to mitigate visitor disturbances and combat potential poaching activities. Etosha National Park is home to 72% of Namibia’s black rhino population. However, it has recently experienced a troubling increase in poaching, with 19 rhinos reported killed in the first quarter of 2024.

Wildlife trafficking in Việt Nam has grown increasingly sophisticated and harder to detect in recent years as traders shift their operations to digital platforms. According to a Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network's (TRAFFIC) report, Việt Nam recorded approximately 22,500 online advertisements for wildlife and wildlife products from June 2021 to July 2023. Facebook dominates as the primary platform, accounting for 51.3 per cent of the activity, followed by Zalo at 35.5 per cent.

The Skukuza regional court on Thursday sentenced Mozambican Nelson Sandile Sambo to an effective 20-year jail term for poaching-related offences. Sambo, 43, was convicted on seven counts, including trespassing, killing a rhino and possession of a firearm.

A 54-year-old Zimbabwean fugitive, Thomas Chauke, also known as Sazu Nkambuya, has been sentenced to 110 years in prison after being convicted of multiple charges, including rhino poaching, escaping lawful custody, and illegal possession of firearms. Chauke was convicted by the Makhanda High Court following a thorough investigation by the SAPS Stock Theft and Endangered Species (STES) Unit. He pleaded guilty to six counts of rhino poaching and wildlife-related crimes, as well as three counts of escaping lawful custody.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has announced a complete ban on drones within Etosha National Park, citing escalating security concerns linked to rhino poaching. Colgar Sikopo, the ministry’s deputy executive director of Natural Resource Management, stated that while drones were previously permitted under strict conditions, the increasing misuse by visitors has necessitated a stricter approach. "Many visitors have been entering the park and using drones with no such permission.

The value of proper training added to on-the-job gut feel paid off for two Kruger National Park (KNP) staffers with an 11-year sentence handed to a suspected rhino poacher this month, five years after the suspect was apprehended. KNP dog handlers stationed at the park’s Kruger and Phabeni gates, tasked as part of what SANParks said was "a special operation" in January 2020 flagged a suspicious vehicle on a gravel road linking Skukuza and Pretoriuskop. The driver ignored the stop request with Kruger personnel in a short-lived chase.

The Namibian Police's regional commander in Oshana, commissioner Lungameni Sackaria, says poaching activities have reduced drastically since he took over the 'Yesa Ongava' anti-poaching operation in Etosha National Park. Sackaria on Thursday said police officers stationed in the national park have been working tirelessly to combat poaching activities with strong coordination among the police force. He said since taking over the reins of the operation, poaching incidents in Etosha National Park have decreased from 30 to eight incidents recorded only.

Number of smuggling cases involving ivory, pangolin scales and rhino horn has 'dropped significantly' since 2021, government says. Hong Kong has seen no "significant seizures" of smuggled ivory and pangolin scales since 2021, the government has said, attributing it to heavier penalties while animal rights groups pointed to international efforts in tackling the illegal wildlife trade as also helping.

Pretoria - In a significant victory against rhino trafficking and wildlife related cases, a 54-year old wanted fugitive Zimbabwean national, Thomas Chauke, also known as Sazu Nkambuya has been convicted and sentenced to 110 years' imprisonment. This follows a meticulous and extensive investigation by the detectives attached to the SAPS Head Office, Stock Theft and Endangered Species (STES) which led to successful conviction and sentencing of Chauke on six counts of rhino poaching and wildlife related cases, and three counts of escaping from lawful custody.

Two Zimbabwean nationals and their South African accomplice have each been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to a foiled rhino poaching operation in South Africa’s Limpopo province. The trio - Kholwani Mwembe (40) and Emmanuel Marombedze (36), both Zimbabwean, and Stephen Tshoeu (49), a South African - were arrested in March 2024 in the Steilloop following a joint sting operation involving police, SANParks officials and private security personnel.

Two Zimbabwean men and their South African associate have each been sentenced to five years in prison after being arrested while attempting to poach a rhino in South Africa's Limpopo province. The trio - Kholwani Mwembe (40) and Emmanuel Marombedze (36), both Zimbabweans, along with Stephen Tshoeu (49), a South African - were apprehended in March last year in the Steilloop area. Security officials recovered a firearm, ammunition, and a knife during the operation.

In just the first month after South Africa launched its aerial drone program in the iconic Kruger Park, 55 potential poachers were caught sneaking into the park. When I was just 11 years old, my South African-born father took me to Kruger Park for the first time… and I was hooked. Hooked on wildlife and hooked on Africa. Kruger boasts lions and elephants, Cape buffaloes and zebras, and much more.

Pretoria - The number of rhino in the Kruger National Park has increased. This after the use of technology and sniffer dogs to deter poaching. In the past financial year, the park reported about 180 cases of rhino poaching, a decrease of 45% compared with previous years. Security camera were installed and 12 more installations are expected.

Conservationists are raising serious questions about crime scene protocols - and the sense in stockpiling rhino horn - after a report claimed the police took eight hours to respond to a burglary at the North West Parks Board on Monday. In what is being described as a well-planned heist executed with military precision, thieves broke into the Heritage House headquarters of the North West Parks Board in the early hours of Monday and stole 51 rhino horns worth millions of rands on the Asian black market.

The recent sentencing of six Zimbabweans - members of the so-called Chitiyo Rhino Poaching Gang - to prison terms ranging from 16 to 20 years suggests that authorities are slowly but steadily making inroads in tackling the poaching scourge.

In Limpopo, which shed over 90 000 jobs between January and March, the impact of rhino poaching was hugely felt by its nearly 6.8 million population. More than 80 rhinos were killed through poaching in Limpopo parks and game reserves between 2020 and 2022  - which is of major concern for the Limpopo economics development, environment and tourism department.

Nampol in Omusati thwart a rhino poaching expedition and confiscate the rifle.

A 32-year-old poacher, Freedom Siyabonga Ndlovu, was sentenced to 32 years of direct imprisonment for offences related to poaching by the Skukuza Regional Court. The accused had a hand in the killing of three rhinos.

Cameras and vehicle recognition devices assist in picking up vehicle movement and how many vehicles are circulating in a specific area of the park. Solar powered hubs, cameras and alarm speakers are just some of the few modern technologies erected in the Kruger national park's (KNP) Skukuza campsites to bolster the fight against theft, poaching and other crimes. KNP has incorporated modern technology into its vast terrain ravaged with smugglers and poachers.

Cape Town - Members of a rhino poaching gang were sentenced to heavy direct imprisonment sentences by the Eastern Cape High Court sitting in Makhanda. The Zimbabwean nationals, Francis Chitho, 35; Trymore Chauke, 30; Meshack Chauke, 27; Simba Masinge, 32; Nhamo Muyambo, 32; and Abraham Moyane, 36, were convicted of conspiracy to commit theft of rhino horn and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

The Namibian police have reported another wildlife crime, as two rhinos were poached in the Outjo district on an unknown date in June. According to the weekend crime bulletin, the incident involved the hunting of specially protected game species without a permit and theft of rhino horns. It is alleged that unknown suspects unlawfully and intentionally hunted and killed two white rhinos, with a value estimated at N$660,000. The carcasses were recovered, no arrests have been made, and police investigations are ongoing.

Six Zimbabwean nationals, found guilty of rhino poaching, appeared at the Makhanda High Court on Wednesday, 14 June 2023, for their long-awaited sentencing. The six felons were first arrested in July 2018. Almost five years after their arrest, Francis Chitiyo, Trymore Chauke, Misheck Chauke, Simba Masinge, Nhamo Muyambo, and Abraham Moyane have been sentenced to between 16 to 20 years for conspiracy to kill rhinos so that they could steal their horns and for possession of an unlawful firearm and ammunition.

Johannesburg - The Eastern Cape High Court sitting in Makhanda imposed heavy prison sentences on six Zimbabwean nationals in what game reserve owners in the Eastern Cape have called a major breakthrough in the war against rhino poaching syndicates. In sentencing the six, Judge GH Bloem referred to the men as a well-organised group of criminals, arrested after stellar investigation by the SAPS, in particular Captain Morné Viljoen of the Eastern Cape Stock Theft Unit. Viljoen and his team, acting on information, apprehended the poachers while they were travelling on the…

Six members of the so-called Chitiyo rhino-poaching gang received lengthy jail sentences in a landmark judgment in the Makhanda High Court on Wednesday. They were convicted last September on charges of conspiring to poach rhinos and the illegal possession of heavy-calibre firearms and ammunition. Makhanda High Court judge Gerald Bloem handed down sentences ranging from 16 to 20 years, in front of a courtroom packed with conservationists who turned up in their numbers to show how they feel about wildlife crimes. Sentencing proceedings…

Sixteen suspects appeared before the Nelspruit Commercial Crimes Court on 31 May 2023 to face charges related to money laundering and corruption connected to the illicit trade of rhino horns. The accused were apprehended during the course of "Project Blood Orange", which saw an investigation conducted by the Serious Corruption Investigation unit of the Hawks in Mpumalanga.

Durban - Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife says it has adopted a number of measures in its efforts to deal with rhino poaching in many of its parks. However, opposition parties have questioned the entity's urgency to deal with the poaching threat. The entity recently made a presentation before the meeting of the economic development portfolio committee in the KZN legislature where members decried the failure to deal with rhino poaching and the declining standards at Ezemvelo-owned facilities. A total of 244 rhino were killed in poaching incidents in KZN last…

Seven people have been arrested in relation to three wildlife crimes that took place between 17 and 23 April. According to the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, these incidents occurred in the Kavango East, Kunene, and Erongo Regions. Two out of the three cases reported during that period involve high-value species. In the first case, registered at the Opuwo Police Station in the Kunene Region, the police arrested three men for possessing four counterfeit rhino horns.