SOUTH AFRICA: Drugs, Rhino Horn, 51 Lion Claws And 19 Lion Teeth Impounded At OR Tambo Airport

Another person was arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport after being found in possession of drugs and a variety of other illegal items were seized.

The suspect, a 38 year old woman was being monitored after intelligence was provided that she will be arriving into the country from Sao Paulo with drugs.

On arrival from Sao Paulo, the suspect was interviewed and subsequently searched at Customs.

However, all forms of physical search had proven unsuccessful until she started to show signs of discomfort.

She was immediately taken to a local hospital and x-rayed.

The x-ray revealed foreign objects in the shape of bullets.

The “bullets”, suspected to be cocaine, were retrieved and they will be sent to our Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.

In a separate incidents, the team intercepted a parcel at O R Tambo International Airport which was en route to Nigeria.

The parcel was physically searched by Customs and it was discovered that the it contained a rhino horn, 51 lion claws and 19 lion teeth.

The parcel was handed over to Convention on International trade in Endangered Species of wild flora and fauna (CITES) for further investigations.

The team also confiscated branded alleged counterfeit goods with an estimated street value of R 2 800 000 whilst doing gate checks.

It is alleged that a truck emanating from Swissport was inspected by SAPS and SARS.

The truck had cargo of boxes carrying Nike sneakers. The driver allegedly abandoned the truck and fled on foot.

The goods, which were falsely declared as printed matter and the truck were confiscated.

These successes are a culmination of efforts that form part of the new revised strategy that has recently been implemented at the O R Tambo International Airport under the leadership of Major General Dimakatso Ndaba which involves the South African Police Service’s Crime Intelligence, Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation, Airports Company South Africa, O R Tambo International Airport, State Security Agency and other role players.

People may call our Crime Stop number 0860010111 with such information.

Callers may remain anonymous and all information will be treated with strictest confidence.



Tourism Observer

FRANCE: Poachers Near Paris kill Rhino And Cut Off Horn At Zoo

Poachers have killed a rhino for its horn after breaking into a zoo near Paris.

The unknown assailants killed a 5-year-old rhino on Monday night at the Thoiry zoo in the department of Yvelines, to the west of Paris.

The animal was shot in the head three times and had its horn removed, probably with a chainsaw, said a source close to the case.

It's the first time in Europe that poachers have attacked a living animal in a zoo.

The thieves broke into the wildlife park by breaking through a back fence.

The zoo director said the team was in mourning.

"It's a real shock, it's unbelievable to see this on a site like ours," he said.

The rhino had lived in the enclosure since 2015, with another two rhinos that were left unscathed in the attack.

"It's possible that the thieves didn't have time to attack the other animals," a source said

A rhino's horn can fetch up to €40,000 on the black market, with the Chinese believing that it can act as an aphrodisiac.

International trade in rhino horn has been banned since 1993, but thieves have realized that, in Europe at least, museums are a quick way to snag some ivory.

A spike in museum thefts around five years ago in France saw increased security measures, although brazen thieves went as far as to gas guards at a Paris museum to pilfer a rhino horn.

TANZANIA: Four Chinese Appear In Court For Rhino Horn Smuggling

FOUR Chinese nationals appeared in Mbeya Resident Magistrate Court charged with smuggling rhino horns, a senior police official said, pointing to further gains in the fight against the illegal trade.

Last month, Tanzania, which relies heavily on revenues from safari tourism, charged a prominent Chinese businesswoman, Yang Feng Glan, 66, dubbed the ‘Ivory Queen’, with running a network that smuggled tusks from more than 350 elephants.

The East African country’s elephant population shrank from 110,000 in 2009 to a little over 43,000 in 2014, according to a census released in June, with conservation groups blaming “industrial-scale” poaching.

There are far fewer rhinos and they are endangered. The four Chinese nationals, who were allegedly found in possession of 11 rhino horns, were arraigned in court in the southern Tanzanian town of Mbeya on Tuesday.

“The Chinese nationals were denied bail by the resident magistrate’s court and are being held in custody while the hearing of the case continues,” Mbeya regional police chief Ahmed Msangi said.

“They were charged with economic sabotage, which is a very serious criminal offence in Tanzania.” Rhino horn has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine, where it was ground into powder to treat a range of maladies including rheumatism, gout and even possession by devils.

The Elephant Action League, a U.S.-based conservation group, hailed the prosecution of the Chinese nationals, saying it marked another high profile arrest of poaching suspects in Tanzania.

“We must keep up the pressure and support those willing to confront this type of crime as the bad guys have gotten away with this for far too long,” Elephant Action League founder Andrea Crosta said in a statement.

A key Tanzanian poaching suspect known as “Shetani” or “The Devil” was arrested last month after a manhunt that lasted for more than a year. Tanzania’s new president, John Magufuli, has vowed to crack down on poaching as part of a wider war.