POLOKWANE – An extensive investigation was launched after two female rhinos were discovered shot dead with their horns removed on a game farm.
The police in Dorset were notified of the incident in their policing area on Friday (December 9) and a case of rhino poaching was opened.
“The security guard at the game farm noticed two men unknown to him roam on the premises and alerted the search team consisting the SAPS, private security companies, Welgevonden Security and STES, as well as other individuals,” Colonel Malesela Ledwaba confirmed in a statement.
The team started to trace these men’s whereabouts, which lead to the arrest of five men in Leyden village, Tinmyne near Mokopane in the Waterberg District on Friday (December 9).
The men, aged between 25-40, were pulled over in a red car with Gauteng number plates, in which the police found two rhino horns that are believed to be that of the two carcasses discovered on the game farm.
“Along with the horns, the police also seized a hunting rifle with a silencer, five live rounds of ammunition and two butcher knives,” Ledwaba added.
The suspects are expected to appear before Mokopane Magistrate’s Court on Monday (December 12) facing charges of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, as well as illegal hunting.
