Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

Information & discussion on the Rhino Poaching Pandemic
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Richprins
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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

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POACHERS' SOB STORY FAILS TO SOFTEN JUDGE
By Tlangelani KhosaWednesday, July 17, 2019 14:00



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From left: Xifaniso Zwane, Nito Khoza and Shadi Mabote after appearing in the Mhala Regional Court.Photo by Tlangelani Khosa ~

A MAN bust last June for poaching rhino in the Kruger Park will spend 18 years in jail, while his accomplices will each serve 13 years.

Xifaniso Zwane (30), Nito Khoza (34) and Shadi Mabote (36) appeared yesterday in the Mhala Regional Court in Thulamahashe, Mpumalanga.

The court heard the three were hired by unknown kingpins from Mozambique, their home country.

Rangers followed tracks and found them with a horn, hunting rifles and an axe before they could leave the park.

The three told the court they regretted their actions and begged for lesser sentences.

Prosecutor Ansie Venter said the state had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt after evidence, including the dead rhino’s blood, was found on the accused’s clothes.

“Rangers risked their lives to battle these poachers, and we ask for direct imprisonment,” said Venter.

Magistrate Betty Lesufi said their plea didn’t mean they were sorry but only wanted the court to show mercy.

She sentenced Zwane, who was previously convicted for possession of an unlicensed firearm, to 18 years in jail.

Khoza and Mabote will each spend 13 years in jail.

https://www.dailysun.co.za/News/Nationa ... e-20190716


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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

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Vietnam seizes 125kg of rhino horn hidden in plaster


Sunday 28 July 2019 - 8:15am




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Customs officials at Noi Bai International Airport removing smuggled rhino horn pieces from packaging in Hanoi.
AFP

HANOI - Fifty-five pieces of rhino horn were found encased in plaster at an airport in the Vietnamese capital, authorities said on Sunday, as the country tries to crack down on sophisticated wildlife smuggling routes.

The communist state is both a consumption hub and popular transit point for the multibillion-dollar trade in animal parts.

The 125-kilogram haul of rhino horn discovered at Hanoi's Noi Bai airport on Thursday was found after the carefully disguised shipment aroused suspicion.

Images of the bust show large rhino horns and smaller pieces sitting on a table and police using rods to break the casts apart.

"It took half a day to break them open," a security source told AFP.

It was not immediately clear which African country the shipment originated from.

The parts were found the same day police arrested a key wildlife trafficking suspect and two other men after seven frozen tiger carcasses were discovered in their vehicle in a parking lot.



The busts follow a record seizure in Singapore a week ago of nearly nine tonnes of ivory and a huge stash of pangolin scales destined for Vietnam.

Elephant tusks, pangolins, tiger parts and rhino horn are all sold on the black market in Vietnam, while the rest is smuggled on to China.

But rhino horn is especially prized, with one kilogram fetching up to $60,000 (R858,000).

It is in high demand in Vietnam where some believe that it can help cure diseases and hangovers when ground into powder.

Poachers in Africa have decimated wild rhino populations to meet demand despite the trade being banned globally in the 1970s.

Only about 29,000 rhinos survive in the wild, down from half a million at the beginning of the 20th century, according to conservationists.

Hanoi has long vowed to stem the flow of illegal wildlife crisscrossing its borders but experts say the black market persists thanks to weak law enforcement.
Source
AFP
https://www.enca.com/news/vietnam-seize ... en-plaster


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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

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Surely they must know this kingpin 0*\

Happy they are locked up ^Q^


Next trip to the bush??

Let me think......................
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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

Post by Lisbeth »

Why don't they follow the horns and catch the ones behind the business 0= If not this will be going on forever until no rhinos are left :evil:


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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

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https://lowvelder.co.za/496799/poacher- ... aby-rhino/

Poacher gets 37 years for killing mom and baby rhino
Norman Khoza was sentenced to 37 years in total of which 30 years is to be served.
6 hours ago


MHALA – A rhino poacher who killed a cow and her baby rhino in 2015 was sentenced to an effective 30 years in prison on Wednesday.

Norman Khoza (35) was convicted on eight poaching and firearm-related charges in the Mhala Regional Court.

The two rhinos were poached at Nwanetse in the Kruger National Park.

Khoza was found guilty of being an illegal immigrant, trespassing in a national park, possession of an unlicensed hunting rifle, possession of a firearm with the intent to commit crime, possession of unlicensed ammunition, possession of dangerous weapons (an axe and knives), as well as the illegal hunting of an adult female rhino and a rhino calf.

To secure the sentence, state prosecutor Adv Ansie Venter argued that Khoza showed a lack of remorse and called the killing of the mother and baby “brutal and heartless”.

She also cited the plight of rhinos, the immense strain poaching put on rangers, its detrimental effect on the economy, and the public outcry for justice for the rhinos in intensification of sentence.

Regional court magistrate Elmarie Theron gave Khoza the maximum sentence of 10 years per rhino because he did not show any remorse. It was a female adult which would have been able to have many more calves, and because the other was still a baby.

Khoza was further sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for being an illegal immigrant and two years for trespassing in the park. These are to run concurrently.

He also received three years for possession of the firearm, eight years for intent to use it in crime and two for possessing the axe and knives. These are to run concurrently with the 10 years for hunting the calf.

Khoza will serve another 18 months for possession of unlicensed ammunition, bringing the total to 30 years to be served.

The sentence was welcomed by the National Prosecuting Authority.

“I am very happy about the sentence,” said Monica Nyuswa of the NPA. “It sends a strong message that these crimes will not be tolerated.

“The presiding officer correctly said during sentence that a court is in the service of the community and is also the voice for animals who cannot speak for themselves.”


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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

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After 4 years a sentence is a slow process.


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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

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The procedure to arrive at a sentence is definately too long. Would he have got the same sentence if he had been a South African -O-


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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

Post by graham »

We need a change in the law so that firearm offences can be tried separately and independently of any other charges. Then, if you are found in possession of an illegal firearm, which should be easy to prove, trial a few days later and immediate imprisonment. Then the other charges can be investigated.

Waiting for the full investigation of all charges to take place, takes far too long. There is the added opportunity for dockets and evidence to be "lost" and delays through willful postponement of the trial process.

Punishment needs to be swift and effective.


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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

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Agreed, graham.

The one nice thing is that the perps generally stay in jail awaiting the various hearings anyway, and that gets taken off their final sentences. \O


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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

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Lots are out on bail though O**


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