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A rhino is photographed during a rescue operation.
Five men and a woman have appeared before the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court for illegal rhino poaching. They have been linked to an international fraudulent scheme involving over 960 rhino horns, worth millions of rands, destined for illegal markets in Southeast Asia.
It is alleged that the suspects defrauded the Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Department by securing permits under false pretenses to buy and sell rhino horns domestically, while funneling them into illegal international markets.
Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Dion George has hailed the arrests.
“We welcome progress of the hawks in dismantling international rhino horn syndicate, together with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the environment. It is very clear that the HAWKS are making progress on cracking the international syndicates that are responsible for the poaching of our wildlife.
George adds, “The department of forestry, fisheries and environment is also very much on the forefront of fighting the scourge and we will not rest until we have broken the back of the syndicates operating in our country”.
#sapsHAWKS Six members of an international #RhinoHorn trafficking syndicate were arrested this morning, 19/08 in Sunnyside, Pretoria, by members of the Wildlife Trafficking Section, of Economic Protected Resources, in the Serious Organised Crime Investigation of the #Hawks… pic.twitter.com/5xDIkqTUSa
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) August 19, 2025
