Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing

[Richprins]

517 arrests since 2011...63 convictions...how does that add up to 75.9% "pass rate'?

[Richprins]

The first table suggests 55 and 82 Kruger "arrests" in 2012 and 2011 respectively, while the bar graph suggests 56 and 61?

Or 73 and 82 if you include kills...

[Sprocky]

517 arrests since 2011...63 convictions...how does that add up to 75.9% "pass rate'?

Quite correct! And, in the same time period close to 1000 Rhino slaughtered! That spells a straight FAIL to me!!!

[Richprins]

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com ... %E2%80%A8/



According to SANParks, 30 of the 36 suspected poachers apprehended in Kruger Park so far this year turned out to be Mozambicans. Eleven of the 36 were killed in fire-fights with the security forces and the rest were arrested.

[Toko]

Illegal rhino horn suspects freed

May 1 2013 at 03:51pm
By Melanie Gosling


Cape Town - Two Vietnamese men, arrested in 2010 for the biggest single haul of illegal rhino horns in the Western Cape, had their case struck from the roll this week after the government was unable to supply court interpreters.

The accused, Xuan Binh Dang, 25, and Huong Giang Chu, 32, were released from Pollsmoor Prison on Monday after being in custody for 30 months.

The men have made several court appearances since their arrest in November 2010 at a routine police roadblock outside Beaufort West. The pair had been travelling on a bus bound for Cape Town. When police searched their luggage they allegedly found 12 full rhino horns – one so big it had to be cut in half to fit in the suitcase.

On Monday Victor Knoop of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, which is in charge of court interpreters, told the Khayelitsha Regional Court that the department had encountered problems in securing two Vietnamese interpreters. The one was not registered on the department’s supplier base, which meant he could not be paid, while the other’s tax certificate was not in order, which meant he could not be registered on the supply data base.

In addition, the computers had been offline since April 1, which meant they could not issue any purchasing orders.

The court struck the matter from the roll and the men were released after two-and-a-half years of awaiting trial in jail. They had not yet been asked to plead.

Asked to comment, Paul Gildenhuys, who heads CapeNature’s biodiversity crime unit, said: “In the light of the current rhino poaching rate, it is very disappointing that this case was withdrawn… The court made it very clear that it was a problem of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, and not a problem of the National Prosecuting Authority.

“This was the biggest case of illegal rhino horn in the province when they were arrested, and remains the biggest case so far,” Gildenhuys said.

Had the men been convicted, they could have faced a R100 000 fine or 10 years in jail, or both, and another fine of up to three times the commercial value of the horns, which amounts to R7.8 million.

Gildenhuys said rhino poaching syndicates used the Western Cape roads, transport, airports and harbours to move the horns out of the country. The main market was Asia.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development was asked to comment but the Cape Times had not received a reply at the time of going to press.

Since the beginning of the year, 21 rhino have been killed in North West, 19 in KwaZulu-Natal, 19 in Limpopo and 13 in Mpumalanga.

The department said 41 alleged poachers had been arrested in the Kruger National Park since January. In the past week, three were arrested in Kruger after killing a black rhino. One died in hospital after being wounded in a shoot-out with rangers. The horns and a .458 hunting rifle with a silencer, ammunition and poaching related equipment were confiscated. - Cape Times

[Richprins]

This sort of thing is one of the biggest problems!

[iNdlovu]

I Like the way this reporter conveniently just mentions stats in the minor poaching provinces and leaves out the problem one. This way the numbers don't look so bad.

[Toko]

Eight poachers held in Mpumalanga

May 2 2013 6:25PM


Eight people have been arrested for rhino poaching in Mpumalanga, SA National Parks (SANParks) said on Thursday.

Five suspected poachers were arrested on Wednesday en route to Timbavati Private Game Reserve, said spokesman Paul Daphne in a statement.

Daphne said they were found in possession of a high calibre hunting rifle, ammunition and poaching equipment.

The Timbavati group had been put under heavy surveillance for three weeks, following a joint operation between the Kruger National Park (KNP), Mpumalanga tourism and SANParks.

"We viewed this as a critical group as they had been focusing their operations in the KNP and adjacent private game reserves, including the Klaserie area, for some time now," said Daphne.

"We believe these arrests will assist in resolving a number of other unsolved poaching cases."

Three more suspected rhino poachers were arrested on Wednesday in the Giyani area following an operation between SANParks and police, with a hunting rifle and ammunition recovered.

Daphne said the continued proactive actions of all those involved in the arrests had paid off, with the possibility of more arrests not ruled out.

"This is a clear indication that resilience and patience pays off," he said.

"We are grateful that no lives were lost during the encounter with these heavily armed, suspected poachers."

The eight arrested were expected to appear in court soon.

-Sapa

[Toko]

KNP rhino poachers' plans go wrong as police pounce

PHALABORWA - Police arrested three suspected rhino poachers en route to the Kruger National Park on May 2.

03 May 2013

Police in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, have arrested three suspected rhino poachers believed to have been on their way to shoot and dehorn rhinos in the Kruger National Park.

The situation was monitored and at approximately 15:00 on Thursday, the suspected vehicle with three occupants was spotted 2km away from the Giyani Police Station.

The police closed in and arrested the three suspects after confiscating a 375 hunting rifle and silencer, six pieces of live ammunition and camouflage clothing. The Toyota RunX vehicle was also confiscated.

The origin of the fire-arm is currently being investigated and it will also be sent for ballistic tests.

The three suspects aged between 30 and 38 are from Mozambique.

They are expected to appear in the Giyani Magistrates’ Court on Monday on charges of the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition as well as charges under the National Environmental Biodiversity Act which includes conspiracy to commit rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park.

Limpopo Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Simon Mpembe commended the team for their sterling work and reiterated that the police in Limpopo will fight vigorously to prevent and arrest suspects from killing and dehorning rhinos in the province.

Mpembe reminded the community that an award of up to R500 000 can be paid out to any member of the public who can provide information which will lead to the arrest and conviction in court of suspects involved in the act of rhino poaching or dealing in rhino horns.

In a separate incident on May 1, five suspected poachers were arrested during a three week joint operation with members of the SA Police Service, Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Board Rangers.

According to SANParks spokesperson, Paul Daphne, the suspects were arrested late Wednesday night and were found in possession of a high calibre hunting rifle, ammunition and poaching equipment.

He said the Timbavati group of suspects had been put under heavy surveillance for a period of three weeks.

'We viewed this as a critical group as they had been focusing their operations in the KNP and adjacent private game reserves including the Klaserie area for some time now. We believe these arrests will assist in resolving a number of other unsolved poaching cases,' said Daphne.

According to Daphne, the proactive actions of all involved had finally paid off and the possibility of more arrests could not be ruled out as follow up investigations are underway.

'This is a clear indication that resilience and patience pays off. We are grateful that no lives were lost during the encounter with these heavily armed suspected poachers,' said Daphne.

Sending a strong warning, Dr David Mabunda, chief executive officer of SANParks said, 'Our intensified efforts, together with our partners, are starting to bear fruit. The poachers and their bosses will not get away with these crimes. They must know they cannot hide, and we will hunt them down wherever they are.'

[Toko]

Two arrested for rhino poaching in Kruger

Sapa | 05 Mai, 2013 12:02

Two people have been arrested following the killing of a rhino cow in the Kruger National Park, North West police said on Sunday.

"A rifle and two horns were also recovered," police spokeswoman Colonel Ronel Otto said.

The two alleged poachers, originally from Mozambique, were caught in the park after the poaching near the Pafuri camp.

They would face charges of rhino poaching and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition in the Makhado Magistrate's Court on Monday.

The arrests brought the number of alleged poachers arrested in the park since January to 43.

On Tuesday the environmental affairs department said the number of rhino poached in the country thus far this year was 273.