Hawks arrest six rhino poaching syndicate kingpins
Luxury vehicles, motorbikes, trucks, an undisclosed amount of money, animal skins, properties and suspected stolen items were found and confiscated. The seized items are estimated to exceed millions of rand in value.
Six key syndicate members implicated in a massive trafficking of poached rhino horns were arrested in different parts of Mpumalanga yesterday.
The suspects aged between 30 and 56 include two alleged syndicate leaders, one right hand man, two police officers and a former cop.
They are expected to appear at the White River Magistrate’s Court this afternoon, facing charges of theft, conspiracy to commit a crime, illegal buying and selling of rhino horns, corruption and money laundering.
Meanwhile, the National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya has lauded the collaborative action as a huge success in the fight against rhino poaching in the country.
“We have often been seized with picking up the remains of endangered species and not finding and arresting the poachers and traffickers behind the crime.”
The operation is still proceeding today, more seizures and possible arrests are expected.
