27 November 2013 - A
consignment of 33 rhino horns and a large
number of elephant ivory products seized
by customs officials in Hong Kong in November
2011 were returned to South Africa today.
The return of these
will now enable the Hawks to further their
investigations and determine the origin
of the items by means of inter alia DNA
analysis, which may lead to the arrest and
prosecution of the alleged rhino and elephant
poachers and couriers of the illegal shipment.
The arrival of the consignment
at the OR Tambo International Airport comes
as the number of rhino poached in South
Africa for their horn this year increased
to 891. A total of number of rhino poached
in 2012 was 668. In 2011 448 rhino were
killed for their horn in South Africa.
Since January 2013,
548 rhino have been poached in the Kruger
National Park. A total of 89 rhino have
been poached in Limpopo, 82 in North West,
79 in KwaZulu-Natal and 77 in Mpumalanga.
The total number of
suspected poachers arrested climbed to 310
this week, an increase of 25 in the past
week. Three alleged couriers have been arrested
since the start of 2013.
The return of the consignment
to South Africa augers well for the future
development of constructive relations with
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
of the People’s Republic of China.
During October 2011
a container allegedly containing waste,
parings and scrap of plastic was cleared
at the Import and Export customs office
of the South-African Revenue Services in
Alberton, Johannesburg, to be shipped to
Hong Kong.
On 15 November 2011
Hong Kong customs officials seized a container
of thirty three (33) rhinoceros horns, seven
hundred and fifty eight (758) ivory chopsticks
and one hundred and twenty seven (127) ivory
bracelets which was shipped from the Cape
Town harbour.
An investigation was
launched by the Endangered Species Section
of the Hawks and the docket presented to
the National Prosecuting Authority.
Based on the information
collected during the investigation, and
the fact that both South-Africa and China
are parties to CITES (Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora), the Director of Public Prosecutions,
South Gauteng, applied to The Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of the People’s
Republic of China for mutual legal assistance.
The request had included
that evidentiary material be produced by
Hong Kong and that a South African delegation
visit Hong Kong in order to have the rhino
horns and ivory items returned to South-Africa
for further investigation.
The return of such items
was the first request of its kind and took
place in terms of an agreement between the
Government of the Republic of South Africa
and the Government of The Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region of the People’s Republic
of China for mutual legal assistance, which
was signed on 20 February 2009. The mutual
commitment by both countries to fight the
illegal exploitation of wildlife crime was
evident during the execution of the mutual
investigation and strengthened the ties
between the two countries.
Following two years
of intensive negotiation, a South African
delegation, comprising representatives of
the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations
(Hawks), the National Prosecuting Authority,
the Forensic Science Laboratory of the South
African Police Service and the Department
of Environmental Affairs returned to South
Africa on 27 November 2013 with the evidentiary
material, as well as the rhino horns and
items crafted from ivory.
The 33 rhino horns weigh
79,9 kg and have a conservative estimated
black market value of R23,8 million. The
seven hundred and fifty eight (758) ivory
chopsticks and one hundred and twenty seven
(127) ivory bracelets weighed 22.2 kg and
have a conservative estimated black market
value of R100 000-00.
A forensic evaluation
of the rhino horns by a South African forensic
specialist indicated that the victims of
the illegal exportation of the horns were
not only large adult rhinos, but also very
young juvenile or sub-adult rhinos. It has
further been determined that some of these
horns were harvested from rhino that had
previously been dehorned. The investigation
had further revealed that all the horns
were cut at the growth point, suggesting
that the horns were obtained from rhino
that had been killed.
The ivory bracelets
and chop sticks that were part of the consignment
all had similar dimensions indicating that
these items were manufactured in the same
facility. This fact further suggests that
these items were mass produced, most probably
utilising sophisticated machinery. The large
number of ivory items is evidence that multiple
elephants were killed to produce enough
ivory to manufacture all these items.
South Africans and members
of the international community are encouraged
to forward information regarding rhino poaching
and related tip-offs to the anonymous tip-off
lines 0800 205 005, 08600 10111 or Crime-Line
on 32211.
