NELSPRUIT – A consignment of 33 rhino horns and a large number of elephant ivory products seized by customs officials in Hong Kong in November 2011, were returned to South Africa on Wednesday. There is a good chance that most of these horns – if not all of them – were hacked off poached rhino in the Kruger National Park (KNP).
The return of these will now enable the Hawks to further their investigations and determine the origin of the items by means of inter alia DNA analysis, which may lead to the arrest and prosecution of the alleged poachers and couriers of the illegal shipment.
The arrival of the consignment at the OR Tambo International Airport, comes as the number of rhino poached in South Africa for their horn this year increased to 891. A total of 548 of these animals were poached in Kruger.
During October 2011 a container allegedly containing waste, parings and scrap of plastic was cleared at the import and export customs office of the South African Revenue Services in Alberton to be shipped to Hong Kong.
On November 15, 2011 these customs officials seized a container of 33 rhino horns, 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 ivory bracelets which was shipped from the Cape Town harbour.
An investigation was launched by the endangered species section of the Hawks and the docket presented to the National Prosecuting Authority.
Based on the information and the fact that both South Africa and China are parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), the director of public prosecutions in South Gauteng, applied to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China for mutual legal assistance.
The request had included that evidentiary material be produced by Hong Kong and that a South African delegation visit this country to have the horns and ivory items returned to our country for further investigation.
The return of such items was the first request of its kind and took place in terms of an agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China for mutual legal assistance, which was signed on February 20, 2009.
The mutual commitment by both countries to fight the illegal exploitation of wildlife crime was evident during the execution of the mutual investigation and strengthened the ties between the two countries.
Following two years of intensive negotiation, a South African delegation, comprising representatives of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (Hawks), the National Prosecuting Authority, the forensic science laboratory of the police and the Department of Environmental Affairs, returned to South Africa on Wednesday with the evidentiary material, as well as the rhino horns and items crafted from ivory.
The 33 rhino horns weigh 79,9 kilograms and have a conservative estimated black market value of R23,8 million. The 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 ivory bracelets weighed 22,2 kilograms and have a conservative estimated black market value of R100 000.
A forensic evaluation by a South African forensic specialist indicated that the victims of the illegal exportation of the horns were not only large adult rhino, but also very young juvenile or sub-adults. It has further been determined that some of these horns were harvested from rhino that had previously been dehorned.
The investigation had further revealed that all of them were cut at the growth point, suggesting that they had been obtained from rhino that had been killed.
The ivory bracelets and chop sticks that were part of the consignment all had similar dimensions indicating that these items were manufactured at the same facility. This fact further suggested that these items were mass produced, most probably utilising sophisticated machinery. The large number of ivory products is evidence that multiple elephants were killed to produce enough ivory to manufacture all these items.
The total number of suspected poachers arrested rose to 310 this week, an increase of 25 in the past week. Just last week, four suspected poachers were killed and 17 arrested in Kruger. The incidents occurred in various parts of the park including Kingfisherspruit, Crocodile Bridge, Lower Sabie, Letaba, Mooiplaas and in adjacent areas along the boundary.
South Africans and members of the international community are encouraged to forward information regarding rhino poaching and related tip-offs to the anonymous tip-off line on 0800-205-005, 08600-10111 or Crime Line on 32211.
• Several reporters are currently in the KNP where the devastating effects of rhino poaching is highlighted once again. On Wednesday they went to observe a post-mortem being performed in Houtboschrand on the carcass of a poached rhino. A Gazelle aircraft was also shown to them on Thursday (yesterday) which will be utilised in the fight against poaching. Lowvelder will report on this media trip in detail next week.
