Cops make new rhino horn find

2010-11-23 22:08

Pretoria - Two men found in possession of rhino horns were arrested when their taxi was stopped and searched on the R35 in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Tuesday.

The organised crime and dog unit pounced on the men aged 20 and 35 on Monday, after receiving a tip off that a black rhino was shot at the Hluhluwe/Umfolozi Game Reserve, said Colonel Jay Naicker.


Police set up a road block and arrested the men who were travelling in a taxi from Empangeni to Gauteng. Two rhino horns were found.

Further investigations led police to an AK47 rifle hidden at the home of one of the men in the Melmoth area, said Naicker.

Police were working closely with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife to locate the carcasses of the animals that the horns belonged to.

Naicker said the pair would appear in the Vryheid Magistrate's Court on Thursday, facing charges of illegal possession of rhino horns, illegal hunting and illegal possession of a firearm.

- SAPA