Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

[Klipspringer]

Two men in court after caught with 167 rhino horns

2019-04-15 22:53

Two South African men caught at the weekend with 167 rhino horns, one of the biggest hauls recorded and believed to be destined for Asia, appeared in court on Monday, police said.

Clive John Melville, 57, and Petrus Stephanus Steyn, 61, both from the southern city of Port Elizabeth, face charges of trafficking rhino horns.

The two will remain in custody until April 26 when they will apply for bail, said brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, Hawks spokesperson.

They were arrested on Saturday in the Hartbeespoort dam area, north of Pretoria, following a tip-off that there was a car transporting rhino horns.

Police said the rhino horns worth a "substantial amount of money" were destined for the Southeast Asian markets.

Demand for rhino horn is primarily fuelled by consumers in China and Vietnam where it is advertised by some traditional medicine practitioners as a wonder ingredient.

In reality, rhino horn is comprised of little more than keratin, the same protein that makes human hair and fingernails.

Nonetheless, horn can fetch up to $60,000/kg in Asia, stoking lucrative transnational crime networks that have decimated rhino populations in recent decades.

South Africa, which is home to about 80% of the world rhino population, has been hit hardest.

In 2018, 769 rhinos were poached in South Africa alone. More than 7 100 animals have been killed over the past decade.

The country is also home to the world's largest privately-run rhino farms.

In 2017, a leading private rhino breeder John Hume organised an online rhino auction after South Africa's top court lifted an eight-year moratorium on the domestic trade of rhino horns.

Breeders harvest the horns by tranquilising the animals and cutting them off - a technique they say is humane and wards off poachers.

Photographs circulated in the local media after the weekend seizure show horns with markings indicating weight and others that appear to be registration numbers.

"These suggest that the horns came from a stockpile of some kind, possibly a private stockpile," Julian Rademeyer, a project leader at Traffic, the international wildlife trade network, told AFP.

The way the horns have been cut "looks as though (they were) professionally cut with an electric saw - again this could point to the possibility that some of the horns came from rhinos that had been dehorned and not necessarily from poached animals," added Rademeyer.

Update on this:

Save the Beasts. Stop the Slaughter
14. November um 15:03 ·
SUSPECTS IN MASSIVE RHINO HORN SEIZURE APPEAR IN REGIONAL COURT - CASE POSTPONED UNTIL JANUARY 2020

November 14 2019

Report received from Simon Bloch

Clive John Melville, 57, and Petrus Stephanus Steyn, 61, appeared briefly in the Brits Regional Court today, after their high-profile case had been transferred from the lower District Court.

The pair were nabbed with more than 160 rhino horns belonging to rhino farmer John Hume in April this year, near Hartebeespoort Dam, North West Province.

The case, which has attracted international attention, has been thoroughly investigated by the HAWKS, who remain tight-lipped about the outcome of their investigations.

At this stage. they stand charged for being in illegal possession of rhino horns and contravention of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act.

When they were arrested, the HAWKS stated the horns were destined to be illegally shipped to for the South East Asian horn market, in violation of binding CITES agreements and international protocol.

Soon after their arrest, Hume's attorney Ulrich Roux, tweeted:
"Our firm represents John Hume, the world's largest rhino breeder, who lawfully sold 181 horns to Petrus Steyn and Clive Melville".

However, Melville and Steyn were never the registered buyers of the horns, and permits were not made out in their names.

In response to questions from the media, Roux' choice of words suddenly changed.

"The suspects were acting in their capacity as “agents” for a Port Elizabeth buyer, who was in possession of a valid buying permit, possession permit and transport permit", he said

“In terms of the agreement between our client and (the buyer), our client would receive payment for the said horns upon (the buyer) successfully selling same.

“Our client has accordingly not yet been paid for the said horns and the horns therefore remain his lawful and rightful property,” he added.

"As previously confirmed by Mr Hume, Mr Clive John Melville is the half brother of Mr Hume’s cousin. They are accordingly not directly related".

The matter was rolled over to January 31st 2020 for pre-trial conferencing.

The identity of the actual 'buyer' has not yet been revealed by the HAWKS or in the courts.

ENDS

[Lisbeth]

Mr Hume is getting desperate.

[Klipspringer]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/kruger. ... &__tn__=-R

South African National Parks
Administrator · 6 Std.
Rangers based at Malelane section, and carrying out an extended follow up operation since this morning, managed to arrest 5 suspected rhino poachers and recovered a heavy calibre firearm, ammo, equipment, 5 freshly cut rhino horns & a vehicle in their possession. It is believed this group has been active for sometime in the southern region of the park - kudos to a sterling effort & commitment!

[Alf]

[Richprins]

Malelane is one of the last well-run rhino sections.

[Lisbeth]

But the rhinos are dead

[Richprins]

More on the Malelane arrest:


Brave ranger single-handedly apprehends gang of rhino poachers
A heroic ranger single-handedly apprehended a gang of five heavily armed suspected rhino poachers in the Kruger National Park (KNP) this weekend.
4 hours ago

The incident occurred in the Malalane section of the park on Saturday following an intelligence-driven operation.

Ike Phaahla, general manager of communications for the KNP, said they were grateful that the ranger was not injured during this brave act.

“We are grateful for his braveness, but even more grateful that no harm came to him.”

He added that the suspects were in possession of five fresh rhino horns, a high-calibre hunting rifle, ammunition and poaching equipment. The vehicle in which they were travelling, a kombi, has also been impounded for further investigation.




Phaahla was saddened that the arrests came after the poachers had already killed at least two rhino, rather than before, when they could have been stopped before firing a single shot. “The arrests followed the discovery of two fresh rhino carcasses. The dead animals had been covered with grass and twigs to try and hide them from sight and delay their discovery.”

The section ranger immediately deployed his rangers around the area to look for possible suspicious vehicles.

“He spotted the kombi with two visible passengers and three others who were hiding not far from where the carcasses were discovered.”

When confronted and stopped, the driver produced a permit for two people. The ranger instructed him to get out of the vehicle with his hands in the air, and opened the rear door to expose the other armed passengers.



According to Phaahla the ranger then loudly instructed them to lie on the ground next to the driver. He handcuffed three and while arresting the fourth, that suspect then pointed out that a fifth suspect had his firearm aimed at the ranger.

“Fortunately he failed to pull the trigger and the section ranger was able to call for back-up.”
The suspects are in custody and SANParks is not ruling out further arrests. They will appear in court in due course to face rhino poaching- related charges.

The CEO of SANParks, Fundisile Mketeni, congratulated the team on the arrests and continued to warn criminals that KNP is ready to stop them in their tracks.

“We are thankful that one ranger managed to subdue five criminals without any harm unto himself, and continue to warn those who intend poaching in the KNP that our dedicated staff, technology and information from communities will lead to your incarceration. We won’t stop until all criminals are removed from society.”

https://lowvelder.co.za/515455/brave-ra ... -poachers/

[Lisbeth]

They must have hoped to remain hidden or maybe too "heavily armed" to act quickly, if not he would never have managed this by himself, but very well done.

and another two have gone

(Not much searching done, when they entered the park )

[Richprins]

Yes, they could have stopped them at the gate?

[Lisbeth]

They should have stopped them