Update: Bail application of Skukuza cops postponed
Three suspects that were arrested in the Kruger National Park this week face charges of corruption, trespassing and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. Two are police constables and one an ex field ranger.
Update: June 4
SKUKUZA- The bail application of three men facing charges of rhino poaching related crimes was postponed to June 11. The state will oppose bail for all three which includes two police constables from Skukuza and an ex corporal field ranger from the Kruger National Park.
Original article: May 30
HAZYVIEW – Two police constables stationed in Skukuza and a former SANParks field ranger was remanded in custody after their arrest on Tuesday night on charges of rhino poaching.
The suspects appeared in the local court on Thursday on charges of illegal possession of firearms, illegal possession of ammunition, conspiracy to commit rhino poaching, trespassing and corruption.
The accused are Mr Arnold Mashele and Morris Seshlabela, as well as Mr Phineas Dinda, who was a field ranger in KNP for 25 years. Dinda was relieved of his duties in September last year after a disciplinary hearing on unrelated charges.
The arrests came after a joint operation between the Hawks and officials of the Kruger National Park. Park rangers and the Endangered Species team of the Hawks were performing routine duties on Tuesday morning when they came across a black rhinoceros carcass.
After receiving a tip-off, the team pulled over a marked Skukuza police van. Upon further investigation, a suspected poacher, armed with a .375 hunting rifle and rounds of ammunition, was found. The constables could not give a satisfactory explanation when asked about the man and the weapon. According to sources, when Mashele and Seshlabela were apprehended, they claimed Dinda was a poaching suspect. What they couldn’t explain was why he was found in the back of the police van with the rifle, knives and a panga.The rifle, ammunition, a silencer and poaching equipment were seized.
The minister of environmental affairs, Ms Edna Molewa, congratulated the SANParks and SAPS officers who performed the arrests on their outstanding work. “The arrests sends a strong message that officials alleged to be involved in poaching will be arrested to face the full might of the law,” she said.
Maj Gen Simon Mapyane, the Head of the Hawks in Mpumalanga, applauded the team, under the stewardship of Col Johan Brits, for work well done. “Col Brits is going on pension this Friday, May 30, after serving the police for 39 years and eight days. He is leaving a legacy and has handed the mantle to the team,” Mapyane remarked. He added that the suspects were tasked with the responsibility to patrol the roads around the park and to confront suspicious vehicles, but it was clear that they were doing the opposite.
In court it was revealed that traces of blood were found in both the private vehicles of one of the accused and in the unmarked police vehicle. At the time of the suspects’ appearance, a forensic unit was still processing the blood samples taken.
The state requested that the suspects be remanded in custody in White River until further investigations is concluded in Skukuza. They will appear in Skukuza on June 4 for their bail application.
More arrests may follow.
