BUSHBUCKRIDGE – Four suspects who were arrested for the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and conspiring to poach, applied for bail in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
WO Piet Giyane Mhlongo (50), Mr Elijah Fanie Sihlangu (37) and Mozambicans Mr Thomas Mondzweni Sibuyi (47) and Mr Kenneth Cassam Ngobeni (34), were arrested after police had received a tip-off on April 21.
According to information received, a group of men in possession of weapons and poaching equipment was headed for the Huntington Trust area in a blue Corsa bakkie.
It was alleged that they were going to poach rhino in the Kuger National Park (KNP). The police stopped the suspects’ vehicle next to the road. A white Toyota Hilux Raider, which belongs to Mhlongo, was also flagged down.
Police searched the Corsa and found a hunting rifle wrapped in a cloth as well as a home-made silencer, five rounds of ammunition, a makeshift knife and a black, iron axe. Mhlongo’s service pistol was found in his bakkie.
The four were arrested and charged in the Calcutta Magistrate’s Court on April 22. Their bail applications were postponed to Thursday and transferred to the Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court.
Mhlongo, Sihlangu and Ngobeni were granted bail of R5 000 each. Sibuyi, however, was denied bail as he has a similar pending case against him. The four must return to court on May 5.
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