1-May-10 11:00 AM CST

Crack task team formed to tackle rhino poaching

An elite group of government and private environmental professionals have formed a task team to combat further rhino poaching amid fears that syndicates operating nationally are based in Port Elizabeth.

The Green Scorpions, the National Wildlife Reaction Unit, the Port Elizabeth organised crime unit, SA National Parks and 12 private game reserves forming part of the Indalo Group are working together in an attempt to curb rhino poaching on reserves across the Eastern Cape.

For the past three months game reserves in the province have been put on high alert in fear that rhino poaching syndicates will strike again.

Game reserve security experts say that the demand for horn stems from the Asian market has created a price war among poachers.

It is estimated that one rhino is killed every 41 hours somewhere in South Africa.

The task team is investigating the recent slaughter of a 14-year-old rhino cow on Kwantu Game Reserve, 80km from Port Elizabeth, over the Easter weekend.

The cow’s death led to its year-old calf being killed by a pride of lions less than two days after its mother was slaughtered for her horns.

Green Scorpions deputy director Jaap Pienaar said the recent poaching attack had been expected, as the Eastern Cape was the only province not targeted by the syndicates since the beginning of the year.

The Green Scorpions, who are now working with the new crack squad known as the National Wildlife Reaction Unit, will specifically tackle ongoing rhino poaching, and other matters relating to care of the environment.

A local wildlife security expert, who cannot be named as he is working undercover, said a team had been tracking and monitoring the poachers for the past year: “There are definitely people in Port Elizabeth who are connected to national and international syndicates.”

“A few local individuals connected in perlemoen syndicates have moved out of the abalone business and into rhino poaching,” the expert said. “We have had many cases where Port Elizabeth men have been arrested in Gauteng and the Free State for dealing in rhino horn or transporting large amounts of horn illegally for sale before export.”

The expert said there was a prominent Vietnamese group in Port Elizabeth that received the rhino horn and arranged the sale and transport out of the country. “This group has even employed scouts who prowl the reserves acting as their eyes and ears on the ground so that they know when, where and what is happening within reserves at any given time,” the source said. “These are well-paid and highly trained professionals, which is why it is taking us so long.”

So far nine men from the Eastern Cape have been arrested for rhino poaching over the past two years. “Two men from Fort Beaufort, three from Port Elizabeth, three from Port Alfred and another from East London were all arrested over the past two years for being involved in poaching,” the source said. “Most of them have strong ties to Port Elizabeth and almost all of them were caught transporting or selling horns in other provinces.”

A Port Elizabeth man was arrested last year with two others. The three of them face 43 charges relating to rhino poaching across the country.

The syndicate was also allegedly involved with rhino poaching in seven different provinces since 2005. This is one of the largest cases of its kind in South African history.

News items on this page are from external sources and the International Rhino Foundation cannot be held responsible for the authenticity of their content, nor for the continuing presence of original links.

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Source: The Herald
http://www.epherald.co.za/article.aspx?id=558166