Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

[nan]

have look here https://focusingonwildlife.com/news/jav ... title_1120

[Lisbeth]

There are so few left

He would have got a longer sentence in SA

[Richprins]

KNP’s former ‘crown prince’ back in court on poaching charges


Once seen as the ‘crown prince’ of game rangers in the Kruger National Park (KNP), Rodney Landela (43), was back in court from Monday June 10 to Friday June 14, facing rhino poaching charges. The incident which saw Landela’s career as a top ranger spiral, took place on July 27, 2016, when he and veterinary …
June 22, 2024
Buks Viljoen 2 minutes read

Rodney Landela was one of the bright stars in the programmes of the KNP to reintroduce rhinos to other parks. He was also working on the rhino orphans programme where Kruger orphans were resettled with rhino cows who "adopted" them.




>Photo: Archive

Once seen as the ‘crown prince’ of game rangers in the Kruger National Park (KNP), Rodney Landela (43), was back in court from Monday June 10 to Friday June 14, facing rhino poaching charges.

The incident which saw Landela’s career as a top ranger spiral, took place on July 27, 2016, when he and veterinary sciences employee, Kenneth Motshotsho (52), were arrested after a white rhino had been poached in Kingfisherspruit.


Both horns of the animal had been removed. Rangers patrolling the area had heard three gunshots and started looking for the suspects. A SANParks helicopter which was patrolling nearby was deployed to the scene and was able to track a suspected vehicle.

The vehicle, in which Landela and Motshotsho were found, was stopped when the chopper landed in the road. Landela told Motshotsho to drive to Satara Rest Camp while he stayed behind. A short while later, Motshotsho retuned.

This made the other rangers suspicious and they searched the vehicle, where they found two pairs of bloodied shoes as well as an axe in the back.

Further investigation followed and a hunting rifle, issued to Landela, as well as two rhino horns were discovered in the veld.



Both were arrested.

Landela had a distinguished career as a ranger, and it was generally believed he would one day become chief ranger of the world-renowned park. Both Landela and Motshotsho were later found guilty during a disciplinary hearing and were dismissed.

The two appeared in the Skukuza Regional Court last week after a series of postponements in the case, which was partly heard in 2018 by regional Magistrate Dries Lamprecht, who died in March 2018.

The trail then had to restart.

Advocate Ansie Venter, who was previously the state prosecutor in the Landela case, told Lowvelder that the case had been handed over to Advocate Lot Mgiba.

By Friday June 14, six state witnesses had testified.

Because the suspects pleaded not guilty and don’t want to make any admissions, specialist witnesses will be called.

They will testify about DNA results as well as fingerprints and handwriting analyses.

The case was postponed to September 30 and the accused’s bail of R20 000 each was extended.

https://www.citizen.co.za/lowvelder/new ... _Zy9ClRlzQ

[Lisbeth]

Ethics and morals have no value when the other choice is money

[Richprins]

Rhino poacher convicted and sentenced

13 Jul 2024 - From Arrive Alive

Moshe Thobela (Alias TK) 33, was found guilty and sentenced by the Skukuza Specialised Court on Friday, 12 July 2024, for Contravening Sec 57 (1) of Act10 2004 - possession of two rhino horns.

The sentence follows after a lengthy investigation carried forward by the Nelspruit and Middelburg based Serious Organised Crime Investigation together with Wildlife Trafficking Head Office, Counter CI Head Office, KNP Rangers and Prosecutor Adv M Mashuga from Pretoria DPP.
The sentence emanated from Project: Broadbill, which was aimed at addressing rhino trafficking activities.

On 12 June 2018, Operation Billfish, which forms part of Project Broadbill, was executed at Hazyview and Witbank, respectively. Thobela and his other accomplices were arrested for dealing and possession of two rhino horns.

After a series of court appearances, Thobela was found guilty and sentenced on Friday, 12 July 2024, as follows: R150 000.00 or three years imprisonment. Further declared unfit to possess firearm.

The Provincial Head Major General Gerber welcomed the sentence and applauded the multidisciplinary team for work done.

The Provincial Head concluded by urging the public to blow the whistle on these heartless criminals who pillage our natural wildlife.

https://www.arrivealive.mobi/news.aspx? ... iJ9eNLAQwA

[Lisbeth]

Did the rhinos come from Kruger, or was the place of origin of the horns unknown?

[Richprins]

[Richprins]

Joseph “Big Joe” Nyalungu and wife appear on tax charges in Nelspruit court

Joseph “Big Joe” Nyalungu, who is known for his alleged involvement in rhino poaching in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, and his wife, Dudu Alicia Mathumbu (56), together with their company, Mjingo Projects and Transport Services, appeared before the Nelspruit magistrate’s court on Monday for failing to submit company income tax returns during the tax period 2015 to 2023.



Joseph “Big Joe” Nyalungu and his wife, Dudu Alicia Mathumbu.

According to Nelspruit Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi, the 60-year-old Nyalungu also allegedly failed to submit personal income tax returns for the tax periods 2014 to 2023. Mathumbu allegedly failed to submit personal income tax returns for the tax periods 2011 to 2023.

They were released on R1 000 bail each, and the case was postponed to 12 August to be transferred to the Nelspruit specialised commercial crimes court.

https://mylowveld.net/joseph-big-joe-ny ... pMGvIYjbGw

[Lisbeth]

Rhino poaching gangster ‘Navara’ locked up for 27 years for Kruger National Park-linked killing sprees


Mozambican gangster Simon 'Navara' Valoi . (Photo: MzNews / Wikipedia)

By Tony Carnie - 22 Aug 2024

The gang leader ‘Navara’ — linked to the slaughter of numerous rhinos in Kruger National Park — has been sentenced to spend the next 27 years in a Mozambican prison.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mozambican gangster Simon Valoi and one of his accomplices, Paulo Zucula, were convicted of multiple crimes and sentenced on 16 August by the Maputo provincial law court, sitting in the southern city of Matola.

Valoi, dubbed “Navara” because of his penchant for stealing and then driving around in expensive 4×4 sports utility vehicles such as the Nissan Navara, was sentenced to 27 years’ imprisonment and Zucula to 24 years.

Valoi (47) first gained international attention in 2015 after he kidnapped German journalist Bartholomäus Grill and Swedish photographer Toby Selander in the Mozambican village of Mavodze in Massingir District, close to the South African border.

Grill later described his ordeal in a report on the German news website Der Spiegel.

The Mozambican news agency AIM reported that the court found Valoi and Zucula guilty of crimes including “financing terrorism, poaching, the sale of protected species, money laundering, the use of banned weapons, the use of forged documents, the sale and purchase of illegal guns and vehicles and criminal conspiracy”.

Several of these crimes were committed in South Africa.

Read more: Kruger’s rhinos continue to face unrelenting threats and catastrophic population declines

Valoi’s wealth and apparent popularity as a recruiter of young men as rhino poachers in his home district appear to have shielded him from prosecution until he was finally arrested in 2022.

According to AIM, Valoi and Zucula were arrested in a joint operation by Mozambique’s National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) and wildlife protection bodies, notably the Wildlife Justice Commission.

In a statement on 22 August, a spokesperson for the Netherlands-based commission described the convictions as a “major blow to rhino horn trafficking” which was likely to cause severe disruption to rhino horn networks in Mozambique and South Africa.

On 27 July 2022, Valoi and Zucula were apprehended by Sernic officers in Maputo after a coordinated operation with the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC). During their arrest, authorities seized four rhino horns weighing a total of 2.9kg.

“Valoi is one of the most prolific rhino horn poaching bosses, known for primarily targeting Kruger National Park in South Africa. His conviction, along with that of his right-hand man, Zucula, represents a significant blow to the illegal wildlife trade in southern Africa.

“This conviction marks an important achievement in the global fight against wildlife crime. The high sentences given to Valoi and Zucula send a strong and clear message to those involved in the illegal rhino horn trade that their actions will be met with severe consequences,” said the commission’s executive director, Olivia Swaak-Goldman.

She said the WJC’s mission was to disrupt and help dismantle organised crime networks trafficking in wildlife, timber and fish. The commission did this through intelligence analysis and undercover investigations, helping law enforcement secure arrests and convictions, building their capacity to respond to wildlife trafficking, and holding governments accountable when they failed to act.

Swaak-Goldman noted that rhino horn trafficking was a form of transnational organised crime and that Kruger National Park had borne the brunt of the recent wave of rhino poaching.

Read more: Wildlife crime: Rhino poaching levels remain dire, but good news from Kruger

According to AIM, Valoi’s arrest in July 2022 came after investigators set a trap for him.

“Pretending to be corrupt, they provided him with a mobile phone through which he could contact his relatives and other members of the poaching ring.

“Valoi took the bait and, in an exchange of phone calls and messages, he activated his accomplices who had crossed into South Africa, where they killed a rhinoceros.”

These bugged phone contacts allowed the Mozambican authorities to round up Valoi’s associates. Several of Valoi’s relatives were also detained, on the grounds that they had assisted the organised crime network. DM

[Richprins]

At last! This thug was well-known and ruled Massingir for many years.