Police in Skukuza have arrested two male Mozambican nationals, aged 29 and 38, in connection with the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, as well as for trespassing in the Houtboschrand Ranger area of the Kruger National Park (KNP).

According to the Lowvelder, the men were arrested yesterday.

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane says the arrest came after field rangers on patrol picked up the tracks of three suspected poachers. They informed their regional ranger (of the Marula North section), who immediately dispatched the K9 Unit to start tracking. The regional ranger requested that helicopters and hounds from Skukuza be on standby.

“The field rangers and the K9 Unit spotted the three suspects at around 14:20 at Gorge Block. The regional ranger then alerted the aerial and K9 units, and they converged on the scene with one helicopter. The hounds started searching in the direction that the suspected poachers had been spotted and, after some time of searching, they were able to locate two of the three suspects. The two had run into a small bush to hide under an antbear burrow,” Ndubane explains.

The suspects were arrested and found in possession of a hunting rifle with 11 rounds of ammunition. The two men were charged accordingly and are expected to appear in the Skukuza Periodical Court soon.

The third suspect is still at large.

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