Green Scorpions takes over reptile smuggling case as accused granted bail
The Green Scorpions are handling the case involving reptiles found in parcels at a PostNet that were bound for KwaZulu-Natal.
Two men dropped off the packages for courier at a branch in Pretoria last week.
Staff contacted the South African Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre when they became suspicious.
An animal rescuer who was sent found several protected species in the parcels.
The Environmental Affairs Department says a venomous cobra and two indigenous skinks were among the reptiles confiscated.
READ: PICS: Two in court for attempting to smuggle animals into KZN
The two men, 28-year-old Barend Coetzee and 19-year-old Xander Aylward, were arrested after the branch phoned them and asked them to return to the PostNet under the pretence that a snake had escaped.
Inspectors later found 19 other reptiles and amphibians at their home, including African bull frogs and an African rock python.
The pair have appeared in a court in Cullinan, east of Pretoria, and have been granted bail.
They have been charged with the illegal possession, transport and illegal trade in species listed in terms of the Threatened or Protected Species regulations.
Coetzee and Aylward will be back in court next month.
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