Fifty held in raids on suspected rhino poachers

POLICE say they have smashed three major rhino poaching syndicates in South Africa after arresting 50 suspects in armed raids following a top secret two-month operation.

The dawn swoops came in Limpopo province, which borders popular tourist game reserves in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and were hailed as a major breakthrough.

Officers recovered 13 rhino horns, two elephant tusks, 20 hunting rifles, 15 silencers, two pistols, a shotgun and a substantial amount of ammunition.

Vish Naidoo, a police spokesman, said the men were from three suspected poaching syndicates and were held in Hoedspruit near Phalaborwa. They were linked to a number of cases of rhino poaching in local game reserves by heavily armed gangs. He said: “The team has been identifying suspects and potential suspects, and most were armed with rifles and axes, swords and so forth that are generally used for the removal of rhino horns.

“These suspects have been arrested on multiple charges. It is a major breakthrough in a long-running poaching operation against those taking rhino from our parks.”

South Africa is losing rhinos at the rate of three a day. The animals are killed for their horns, which are in great demand in China and Vietnam for medicinal purposes and for ornamental carvings.

The war against poachers has been greatly boosted in recent years by substantial financial backing from the South African government and private and business funding.

Last year the Department for Environment Affairs in South Africa revealed that the number of rhinos killed by poachers had dropped for the first time, by 10.3per cent to 1,054 in 2016.

South Africa is home to 70 per cent of the world’s 29,500 rhinos.