Ten in court over rhino poaching
Ten alleged members of a rhino poaching syndicate, including a police officer and a lawyer, appeared briefly in the Hatfield Magistrate's Court.
Ten members of a suspected rhino-killing syndicate appeared in the Hatfield District Court in Pretoria on Monday on charges related to Rhino poaching. They will be back in court on 29 September for a formal bail application.
The accused are Hugo Ras, his wife Trudie and his brother Anton Ras. The others are Arno Smith, Bonnie Steyn, a pilot from Ficksburg, Willie Oosthuizen, a warrant officer of the Hawks in Pretoria, Joseph Wilkinson, an attorney from Pretoria, Christoffel Scheepers, Mandla Magagula and Willem van Jaarsveld.
They are between 30 and 50 years old.
The arrest of the syndicate members followed a countrywide scoop from Polokwane in Limpopo to Ficksburg in the Free State on the same day.
Hugo Ras was arrested on Friday morning while appearing on a separate rhino-poaching related case.
The syndicate members are accused of having contributed to the slaughter and mutilation of 24 rhinoin state-owned and privately owned game reserves. Only two of the 24 rhinos that were attacked, survived.
The killings took place between 2008 and 2012. In total, the syndicate allegedly obtained 84 rhino horns and killed 22 rhinos valued at nearly R22 million.
Wilkinson approached the Pretoria High Court on Saturday for an urgent bail application, but this was denied.
The intelligence-led arrest comes after a year-long investigation by key players in the government and the private sector.
Lt-Gen Anwa Dramat, national head if the Hawks, said: “The team will continue to work together in an endeavour to address these types of syndicates. They have no sympathy towards our already endangered species – rhinos. It is clear that they have no regard for the rule of law.”
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