Environmental Affairs, crime-fighting units target poaching syndicates
Environmental Affairs says teamwork has helped dismantle some 35 wildlife trafficking networks in the country.
The department has partnered with authorities like the Hawks, SANParks, SARS customs officials and the police to crack down on the syndicates.
Sokesperson, Albi Modise says the networks they have closed in on had been exporting rhino horns to countries like China and Vietnam.
"The Environmental Affairs Department's Green Scorpions continue to be deployed at different ports of entry and exit with the view of ensuring we beef up security and also arrest those individuals found in possession of rhino horn or any illegally obtained biological product," Modise said.
In the latest bust, six men aged between 34 and 53 were nabbed at a guest lodge in Pongola in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
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Officers acted after receiving a tip-off from the community and took the suspects into custody on Wednesday.
Modise says the arrests reflect the important role local communities play in anti-poaching efforts. He says such involvement helps prevent other rhino from being slaghtered for their horns.
A rifle, live ammunition, hunting knives and an axe were seized during the arrest.
The suspects are due in court today.
Modise says 83 rhino had been poached in KwaZulu-Natal this year, as of the end of August.