MBOMBELA – Five suspects were arrested on Tuesday night in an operation involving various conservation police units and the MTPA.

The five are suspected of killing Sabi, an orphaned rhino sub-adult bull, at Care for Wild Africa.

According to Ms Petronel Nieuwoudt, owner of Care for Wild, on the night of 19 August members of MTPA, Tactical Response Team of the SAPS Nelspruit, SANParks and the organised crime unit of Middelburg , arrested the five suspects.
Sabi was shot in his boma at Care For Wild Africa on the night of 7 August.

His horn had been trimmed to a stump, yet he was shot and killed. His stump and his front legs were butchered from his carcass with a saw.

The weapon used to shoot Sabi was apparently found in the ceiling of one suspect’s house.

The saw that was used to hack into Sabi’s face to remove his stump and to amputate his front legs, was also found by the dogs of the K9 Conservation Anti-poaching Unit, along with other crucial evidence.

“Well done to all of the investigators and teams involved in making these arrests, said Nieuwoudt this morning.

Sabi was moved to Care For Wild Africa after surviving the poaching of his mother in the Sabi Sand over a year ago.

“The .375 bullet that killed his mum, had ricocheted into his side and could not be removed. With a lot of time and devotion, Sabi had recovered from his wound and was growing well, but he was no match for this brutal gang. Both the bullet that killed him and the bullet that had remained in his side were retrieved during the post mortem conducted after his death. The bullets will now serve as evidence in the investigations and prosecutions of the poaching incidents that killed Sabi and his mother,” said Nieuwoudt.

More updates to follow.

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