Rhino cow, calf poached: Police hail local farmers for capturing culprits
[NOT FOR SENSITIVE VIEWERS] The suspects were tracked and arrested during a well-coordinated operation which comprised police from Gravelotte and the local Farm Watch unit, says the police.
LIMPOPO – Acting Provincial Police Commissioner, Maj Genl Samuel Manala has commended all participants in a snap operation which led to the arrest of two rhino poachers this past weekend.
The two rhinos were shot and the cow dehorned, on a farm in the Gravelotte area outside Phalaborwa on Saturday, 20 March. The suspects were arrested the same evening, says Police Spokesperson, Brig Motlafela Mojapelo.
“The well-coordinated operation, comprising members from the Gravellotte Police Station and the local Farm Watch unit, was launched after muffled gunshots was heard on the said farm.
The suspects were spotted travelling in a bakkie along a gravel road leading to a resort in the area and were stopped and searched.” Mojapleo added that during the incident two of the four occupants of the bakkie fled on foot.
“The remaining suspects and the vehicle were searched and a rhino horn and a rile and silencer was found and confiscated.” He added that the suspects were arrested on charges of illegal hunting and their vehicle seized.
“A hunt for the remaining suspects continues.”
The police urged anyone with information that can lead to the arrests of the remaining suspects to contact Capt Meyer at 082 319 9460, the 24-hour Crime Stop number at 086 001 0111 or their nearest police station.
The suspects, Thabane Luka Manganyi and Adrian Maila, expected to appear in the Gravellotte Periodical Court today on a charge of illegal hunting after they were denied bail on Tuesday when they appeared in Namakgale Magistrate’s Court.
