Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

[Richprins]

Government official and businessman bust for rhino horn

By TimesLIVE - 08 October 2021 - 10:26

An official from the North West department of economic development, environment, conservation and tourism (Dedect) has been arrested in connection with illegal rhino horn trade.

The official and the owner of a security company were arrested on Thursday afternoon, the department of forestry, fisheries and the environment confirmed.

The men were arrested and a vehicle seized by a multi-departmental team comprising members of the department’s Green Scorpions, working in collaboration with the Hawks, the Dedect and the department of environment and nature conservation.

“The suspects are alleged to have conveyed 17 individual detached rhino horns from the Northern Cape to North West in contravention of permit conditions issued by both provinces,” the national environmental department said.

“The men are also alleged to have been involved in the trade in rhino horns using permits to cover up their illegal activities.”

The suspects will appear in the Mmabatho magistrate’s court on Monday.

Investigations are ongoing.

TimesLIVE

https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/sout ... hino-horn/

[Richprins]

Skukuza Regional Court sentences convicted poacher to 19 years in prison

After failing to attend court, warrants of arrest were issued against them. A manhunt was launched for these three men, and in 2019, Lubisi was rearrested.

1 day ago
Bongani Mashisane

Simon Mahumbane Lubisi (38) was sentenced on Thursday October 14 by the Skukuza Regional Court after sufficient evidence had been presented by the state against him.

On October 26, 2014, a white rhinoceros was killed in the Lower Sabi section.

Field rangers of Crocodile Bridge, Lower Sabi and Skukuza that reported for duty that day were on high alert after this incident, and as they were patrolling the area, they came across a group of poachers.


A gunfight ensued, resulting in one of the poachers being fatally wounded. Lubisi was among the three that were arrested.

These three were granted bail when they appeared in court, but absconded afterwards.

After failing to attend court, warrants of arrest were issued against them. A manhunt was launched for these three men, and in 2019, Lubisi was rearrested. His co-accused are still at large.

Lubisi went on trial and on Thursday October 14, the case at the Skukuza Regional Court came to a conclusion when he was convicted and sentenced.

On a count of trespassing in a national park, he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. On a count of hunting rhinoceros in a national park, he was sentenced to ten years. He received five years for a count of conspiracy to commit a crime. Lastly, he received one year’s imprisonment on the count of being in possession of a dangerous weapon. Therefore, Lubisi was effectively sentenced to prison for 19 years.

https://lowvelder.co.za/753071/skukuza- ... 8JpBk3a_3o

[Lisbeth]

But 2014.......

[Richprins]

Suspected rhino poachers arrested in Kruger Park
A carcass of a male black rhino was found nearby one of the crime scenes.
20 hours ago
Andrea van Wyk

Four suspected rhino poachers were arrested in the Kruger National Park (KNP) on October 15 and 16.

According to SANParks, the first incident occurred on Friday October 15 when rangers followed up on a spoor and startled the suspected poachers sitting under a tree who tried to flee. The rangers quickly rounded up and successfully arrested three people.

“A high-calibre hunting rifle, ammunition and poaching equipment were seized on the scene. The suspects will appear in court in due course while investigations continue,” said SANParks in a statement.


During a second incident on Saturday October 16, rangers followed up after hearing gunshots and came across two suspected poachers. The one suspect, who had a rifle, was fatally wounded, while the second managed to escape.

Isaac Phaahla, the spokesperson for SANParks, explained that in a situation in which suspects turn firearms on rangers, the rangers will have to retaliate. “This is absolutely the last resort, but if an individual threatens a ranger’s life, they have the right to protect themselves.”

A backpack with two rhino horns was recovered next to the body of the suspect as well as a high-calibre rifle and poaching equipment. A carcass of a male black rhino was found nearby, indicating that the horns were hacked from this particular animal.

“We are saddened to have lost a rhino over the weekend, but are encouraged by the brave actions of our multidisciplinary anti-poaching teams who successfully took out two rifles from the system and apprehended suspects who are now in custody,” said Gareth Coleman, the managing executive of the KNP.

· Meanwhile the Skukuza Regional Court sentenced Simon Lubisi to an effective 19 years in custody for killing and dehorning a rhino. Lubisi was arrested in the Crocodile Bridge Section with three co-accused while busy dehorning a rhino. One suspect was killed when he shot at rangers and the three accused were apprehended and granted bail upon their appearance before a magistrate. They all absconded, but Lubisi was arrested again in the park and stood trial, resulting in the conviction and sentencing on Thursday October 14.

https://lowvelder.co.za/753162/suspecte ... SSW_14iiEQ

[Lisbeth]

If they have killed a rhino they should not be granted bail especially low ones. It is far too easy for them to disappear

[Richprins]

Department welcomes hefty sentences imposed on three rhino poachers

24 October 2021 - 16:09
Ernest Mabuza Journalist
Three Mozambican nationals will serve an effective prison term of 35 years each after being found guilty of dehorning three white rhino horns at the Pilanesberg Game Reserve in 2018.

The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment has welcomed the hefty sentences handed down by a North West court to three rhino poachers on Wednesday.

The Mogwase regional court handed down sentences of 85 years each to Mozambican nationals Arlindo Muhlanga, Adam Hlongwane and Gamula Chauke.

The men were arrested in 2018 after the poaching and dehorning of three white rhino cows in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve.

“The men were found in possession of, among others, six rhino horns, an axe, firearms and ammunition. The bakkie they were travelling in was also confiscated,” the department said.



The men were convicted on 10 charges each, including three charges of illegal hunting of the rhino cows, illegally chopping off rhino horns, illegal possession and conveyancing of six rhino horns in terms of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and trespassing in a protected area.

The sentences imposed were ordered to run concurrently, meaning each man will serve an effective 35 years in prison.

The department said the sentences reflect the severity of the crimes involved in the poaching of rhino in SA and sends a clear message to those involved in these unlawful activities.
https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/sout ... -poachers/

[Lisbeth]

Were these men in court? They cannot have been kept in prison from 2018. Why are fundamental information never included in the media releases

[Lisbeth]

ROVING REPORTERS
Two men nabbed with rhino horn in Gauteng testify that police solicited a R30K bribe to release them


Rogerio Domingo Moaine (left) and Clifford Mashego. (Photo: Samora Mzizi)

By Tulani Ngwenya for Roving Reporter | 18 Nov 2021

A prosecutor says one of the men found in possession of a rhino horn in Gauteng has travelled to at least nine countries, including China and Australia.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Police who arrested two men carrying a rhino horn on a highway near Witbank allegedly demanded a R30,000 bribe to release them.

This was the testimony of Rogerio Domingo Moiane, a 51-year-old Mozambican, in the Delmas Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Moiane was arrested alongside 55-year-old Clifford Mashego on the R50 near Witbank (Bapsfontein) on 14 October.

A police statement issued on that day says: “A SAPS patrol noticed two men walking along the roadside with a large plastic container, wrapped with plastic bags and brown tape. On searching the plastic container, the police were surprised to find a large rhino horn. The two men were arrested.”


The rhino horn that the SAPS confiscated from Rogerio Domingo Moiane and Clifford Mashego while they were walking alongside the R50 near Witbank on 14 October 2021. (Photo: Supplied, SAPS)

They now face charges of illegal possession of a rhino horn and contravening the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act.

Police told Roving Reporters that Moiane and Mashego’s extortion claim is under investigation. Delmas SAPS spokesperson Captain Ray Carla Hartley said the bribery allegation came to light when investigating officers interviewed the two accused in custody.

“It’s a serious allegation. We are investigating it,” said Hartley.

Moiane and Mashego are from the township of Ivory Park, near Tembisa in Gauteng. It is a densely populated area of more than 180,000 residents, covering little more than nine square kilometres. Moiane was the first to take the stand in his bail application on Wednesday. He told Delmas magistrate Manesa Zondo that he works for a metrics company with offices in China. He said he earned about R7,500 a month and does a lot of travelling across Africa and Asia.

Moiane said he had lived in Ivory Park since 1997 on a property he now owned. He told the court he had a passport and a permit to work in South Africa.

He has a pending case in Nelspruit for possession of a firearm. He was arrested in 2017 and is out on R5,000 bail for this case.


The 51-year-old Rogerio Domingo Moaine in the dock at Delmas Magistrates’ Court. (Photo: Samora Mzizi)

On his latest run-in with the law, Moiane said that soon after the arrest, the police officers – one woman and three men – tried to extort a bribe from him, demanding he call a colleague to bring them R30,000.

Grilled

Under cross-examination, state prosecutor Gustav Schultz grilled Moiane about his account of the alleged attempt at bribery, challenging various aspects of his original testimony. Moiane had told the court that he and Mashego were not walking on the side of the road when arrested, but had been travelling to Mozambique in a white Isuzu bakkie with two other people.

He alleged that four police officers, one woman and three men, stopped the vehicle and demanded money. After refusing, they were taken into police custody, but did not proceed to Delmas police station. Instead, the police made two stops – first at the “Pretoria four-ways” intersection near the Delmas golf course, and then at a local KFC near Delmas police station. Moiane claimed that each time they stopped, the police asked for money. They eventually searched the vehicle, leading to the discovery of the rhino horn.

Schultz told Moiane that automatic vehicle locating (AVL) reports would prove that he was lying. AVL systems are designed for surveillance operations that enable law enforcement to track and monitor the movement of vehicles, including location, speed and stops, by obtaining data from global positioning system satellites.

He said Moiane had travelled to China, Australia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, eSwatini, Mauritius, Uganda and Zambia, and produced a picture of a rhino horn obtained from Moaine’s phone.

The case continues on 29 November. DM

Additional reporting by Fred Kockott.

A police officer escorts Clifford Mashego down to holding cells at the Delmas Magistrates’ Court after a court hearing on Wednesday, 17 November 2021. (Photo: Samora Mzizi)

RHINO POACHING STATISTICS

During the first six months of this year, 249 rhinos were poached in South Africa, according to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.

More than half of these rhinos were in the Kruger National Park.
One hundred and twenty-five people have been arrested for rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking across the country. And 40 alleged poachers were arrested within the park over the same period.
Numerous confiscations of rhino horn have also taken place since January within the country, including at OR Tambo International Airport.

A total of 14 cases have reached verdict since the start of the year, representing a 93% conviction rate. Twenty poachers were convicted, the department said in a statement to mark World Ranger Day (July 31).

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife confirmed that as of 3 November, 80 rhino had been poached in public and private parks in KwaZulu-Natal. The figure stood at 88 at the same time last year. – Roving Reporters

Tulani Ngwenya is the editor of Highveld Chronicle in Delmas. He is enrolled on the Khetha Journalism Project. The initiative assists journalists in reporting on the complexities of illegal wildlife trade in and around the Greater Kruger National Park.

[Richprins]

Friday, December 10, 2021 Poachers 1 / of 1
MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release
SANParks COMMENDS THE ARREST OF SUSPECTED POACHERS THROUGH JOINT INTELLIGENCE DRIVEN OPERATIONS
The South African National Parks (SANParks) reported today, 10 December 2021, that its Environmental Crime Investigation (ECI) Unit in collaboration with the South African Police Service (SAPS): Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (DPCI), conducted a series of intelligence driven operations which led to the arrests of eight suspected poachers in October and November 2021 in villages adjacent to the Kruger National Park (KNP).
The suspects were arrested for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition after being found in possession of four high calibre rifles and live rounds; they have since appeared in court on various charges. They were arrested in and around Hazyview in Mpumalanga.
In Limpopo just outside Punda Maria Gate , four additional suspects were apprehended after information was received from community members by SANParks ECI and SAPS. The arrested suspects were found in possession of poison, dried and cooked buffalo meat, knives, shoes, snare cables, elephant droppings, elephant skins, elephant dried lips, and a baboon’s dried arm and wild animal’s bones.
The Managing Executive of KNP, Gareth Coleman congratulated all the teams involved in the operation and commended community members who gave information which led to the successful operations.

[Lisbeth]

Lock them up quickly, not in 10 years time, please!