Five people, including two Limpopo police officers, were arrested in Stoffberg yesterday for the illegal trade in protected pangolins.

The five, including two unnamed police officers of Limpopo, are set to appear in the Laersdrift Magistrate’s Court today.

The Hawks caught wind of the illegal sale of pangolins by a tip-off.

The ‘buyer’ was instructed to meet the ‘seller’ at a garage in Stoffberg.

Once at the garage, the ‘buyer’ was approached by a man.

The man appeared to be hesitant, however, and returned to his black Ford Ranger bakkie.

Various police and Hawks members then approached the bakkie, in which a firearm was discovered.

The cellphones of the bakkie’s occupants were checked, resulting in the discovery of several WhatsApp threads with details around the alleged deal in regard to the selling and buying of pangolins.

All eight pangolin species have worldwide protection as critically endangered animals.