More rhino poacher arrests soon

2010-10-05 23:40

Elise Tempelhoff, Beeld

Pretoria - Many, many more people will soon be arrested due to their involvement in rhino poaching, Ken Maggs, member of the SANParks team investigating the crime, said on Tuesday.

"I hate to say it, but these are people who are involved in nature conservation.

"It's going to turn the game industry upside down and it's going to shock many people.

"We have already issued warrants for the arrests. It's going to happen soon," he repeated.

He predicted that there would be a significant decrease in incidents of rhino poaching after all the arrests have been made.

The biggest problem facing the investigating team, which consists of more than nine units, is "to understand the dynamics of the demand for rhinos", he said.

Maggs said that since the start of the year, 112 people have been arrested in connection with rhino poaching.

- Beeld