Suspected rhino poaching kingpin gunned down in Mpumalanga
The police in Mpumalanga are looking for a gang of suspects who shot and killed a 57-year-old suspected rhino poaching kingpin.
The man was killed on Thursday afternoon in Hazyview.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Leonard Hlathi says the man was previously arrested on several allegations related to rhino poaching cases which are currently before the High Court.
Hlathi says he was killed in his car.
“The deceased was sitting in his Ford Ranger double cab bakkie next to a shopping complex, when a group of about three armed suspects, who were driving in a black VW Polo, fired several shots at him and then fled the scene.
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“He was rushed to hospital thereafter, where he later succumbed to gunshot injuries. During the shooting, a passerby who is an elderly woman also became a victim of the circumstances as she too, was shot on her lower body but she is currently recuperating in hospital,” says Hlathi.
The police opened a case of murder with an additional charge of attempted murder for the woman who was injured in the incident.
“No arrests have been made a yet and the motive for the killing is unknown at this point,” says Hlathi.
