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- Three South African National Parks employees were arrested with fresh rhino horns.
- Two were security guards and one worked with technical services.
- They face court charges and a disciplinary hearing.
Three South African National Parks (SANParks) employees, including two security guards, were arrested in possession of fresh rhino horns outside the gates of Kruger National Park.
SANParks said the third person arrested is in technical services.
They were arrested on October 20 in a coordinated intelligence operation between SANParks, the criminal intelligence unit of the police, and the stock theft units of Sabi Sands and Skukuza.
His arrests came at the end of a car chase.
Between July and September of this year, anti-poaching teams arrested 16 people inside the park and seized seven rifles, according to SANParks.
They also observed and tracked 410 poaching activities, sightings, trails and camps in the last three months.
Kruger National Park Managing Executive Gareth Coleman said these activities broke trust among employees and were discouraging.
“While they may be successful in the short term, history shows that they will eventually be caught and this will be at the expense of their employment, the well-being of their families and the community,” he said.
The defendants appeared in court on Thursday and will remain in detention until bail is requested on October 29.
According to the Department of the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, in 2018, 769 rhinos were killed for their horns in South Africa. During 2019, rhino poaching continued to decline, with 594 rhinos hunted nationally during the year.
It is most commonly marketed for medicinal use.
