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

Post by Richprins »

Excellent!

Hoedspruit has established itself as a clean and committed antipoaching unit, which shows one how things could be in the rest of the country! ;-)


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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

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It is obviously quite easy to get powerful firearms 0=


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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

Post by Lisbeth »

Two rhino poaching kingpins back in court

2018-07-13 05:14 Jan Bornman

Two men believed to have been the "kingpins" in a rhino poaching syndicate operating out of Gauteng are expected back in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Mandla Mashele, 37, and Kelvin Malapane, 30, were arrested in May and appeared in the Benoni Magistrate's Court in June where they were released on bail of R50 000 each.

Their arrest came after a two-year-long operation. Although they were not suspected of being poachers themselves, they were thought to have acquired rhino horn and then facilitated the export of the horn to southeast Asia.

News24 previously reported that Hawks' Colonel Johan Jooste described the arrest as a major breakthrough in the fight against poaching.

He explained at the time that the duo was charged with the illegal sale of rhino horn, but more charges may be added at a later stage.

"We made a paradigm shift in wildlife trafficking and the whole supply chain," Jooste said.

"These specific persons have recruited people to obtain rhino horn, then they will pay a high price for the horn that will be received by the two or three runners working for them and from there they will supply end-user markets," he explained.

"We will always see the ripple effect in terms of how effective it was, so it's always important irrespective of how big the syndicate was."

News24 previously reported that the Kruger National Park, where the two men were thought to have sourced the rhino horn from, had been a hot spot for rhino poaching.

In 2017, of the 1 028 rhino that were poached in South Africa, 504 were poached from the park.


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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

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Two suspected rhino poachers killed
16 July 2018, 11:34 AM | SABC Radio | @SABCNewsOnline

Tags: Loskop Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, Rhino, Rhino poaching

Police were following up on an intelligence tip off about the poachers.
Police say two suspected rhino poachers were killed in a shootout with a police anti-poaching team at Loskop Nature Reserve in Mpumalanga at the weekend.

A police officer was wounded in the leg.

Police were following up on an intelligence tip off about the poachers.

SA Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Vish Naidoo says the wounded police officer has been taken to hospital and he is in a stable condition.

He says: “The two poachers were found in possession of a rifle fitted with a silencer and as you will know in recent years rhino poaching has been serious problem for us here in South Africa.”

“We continue to call upon our communities to assist us in our effort to combat this crime against one of the most important species in our country,” adds Naidoo.


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Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

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\O


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Re: Arrested "Mr Big" behind 70% of Kruger Poaching?

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BREAKING NEWS: “Mr Big” released on bail
Followers of Mabuza in Hazyview are celebrating the release of the alleged kingpin at his home tonight after he was released on bail earlier today.
11 hours ago

MBOMBELA – Petrus Sydney Mabuza was released on bail of R250 000 at the Nelspruit High Court today. This came after Mabuza appealed the sentence of the White River Magistrate court, who did not grant him bail.

According to Captain Leroy Bruwer from the Hawks, the High Court granted Mabuza bail as it decided he was not a flight risk.

Mabuza was arrested on in the beginning of June with three other accused, who were charged on six counts related to rhino poaching. Nozwelo Mahumane was released on bail earlier in June, while it was placed on record that Moshe Thobela and Romance Khoza withdrew their bail application.


During the bail application it was placed on record by the state that Mabuza was indeed a flight risk and that he has the means to commit similar crimes if he is not kept in jail. The defence however argued that he is well loved in the community, he suffers from pain due to a previous car accident and that he would not be able to flee or to tamper with the ongoing case against him.

Jamie Joseph from the environmental organisation Save the Wild, who assisted the Hawks in Mabuza’s arrest, says the granting of bail is a slap in the face for them. “They are celebrating at his home and in the streets of Hazyview tonight. We are deeply upset about the release and this fight is not over.”

https://lowvelder.co.za/442182/breaking ... ased-bail/


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Re: Arrested "Mr Big" Petrus Mabuza behind 70% of Kruger Poaching?

Post by Richprins »

:evil: :evil: :evil:


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Re: Arrested "Mr Big" Petrus Mabuza behind 70% of Kruger Poaching?

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0*\ :evil: :evil:


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Re: Arrested "Mr Big" Petrus Mabuza behind 70% of Kruger Poaching?

Post by Lisbeth »

The defence however argued that he is well loved in the community, he suffers from pain due to a previous car accident and that he would not be able to flee or to tamper with the ongoing case against him.
That he is well loved is obvious......also by the High Court it seems :evil: :evil:


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Re: Arrested "Mr Big" Petrus Mabuza behind 70% of Kruger Poaching?

Post by Richprins »

How does someone just pull out R250 000 as bail like that? O**


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