Crack down on poaching

LIMPOPO - Several arrests have been made by the police in Limpopo, resulting in no less than 14 suspects taken into custody for crimes relating to rhino poaching in February. Vigilant farmers and farm workers who keep an eye out for strange vehicles as well as unfamiliar tracks led to police curbing rhino poaching on farms in Limpopo.
The most recent arrest saw six suspected rhino poachers taken into custody in the Gravelotte area after farm workers noticed strange tracks. With the assistance of the farmer and his private helicopter, two suspects were arrested. The search continues for a third man fleeing. The two suspects appeared in the Phalaborwa  Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Last week, four suspects were arrested on a game farm in the Cumberland area after the farmer alerted Police after also noticing strange tracks on the farm.
The tracks were followed for several kilometers, resulting in the arrest of three suspects. A fourth, suspect managed to flee in the getaway vehicle. Police confiscated a 303-hunting rifle, live ammunition, knives and a panga as well as the vehicle they were using. They appeared in the Thabazimbi Magistrates Court on Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to commit rhino poaching, trespassing as well as the possession of an unlicensed fire-arm and ammunition.
Police arrested another two suspects on were allegedly on their way to poach rhino’s in the Timbavati area. The quick actions of an Alert security guard who contacted the police after two men refused to have their vehicle searched at an Eastgate checkpoint on the Timbavati road outside Hoedspruit, saw another two alleged criminals arrested. The vehicle was stopped and two men where found hiding in the car’s boot alongside a 3,75 hunting rifle with silencer, ten live rounds, hunting knives and an axe. The suspects appeared in the Hoedspruit Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Last Monday, four rhino poachers were apprehended on a game farm outside Lephalale after a suspicious vehicle was spotted and tracked. The four suspects were armed with an axe, hunting knives, a silencer, pliers and screw drivers.
They appeared in the Lephalale Magistrates’ Court last Thursday.