Suspected rhino poachers in court
Image by: Reuben Goldberg
Four suspected rhino poachers were expected to appear in Thabazimbi Magistrates' Court on Tuesday after they were found with a rifle, ammunition, an axe and a handsaw.
Limpopo police spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said the men were arrested on Monday on a public road in a game farming area near Thabazimbi.
Police thought the car in which they were travelling looked suspicious, stopped it and found instruments typically used by poachers.
"The police searched the vehicle and they found a rifle and ammunition, an axe and a handsaw wrapped in a black plastic. It is suspected that the suspects were on their way to shoot and dehorn a rhino on one of the farms in the area," said Mulaudzi.
They face charges of possessing an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
According to the conservation authority, SANParks, 443 rhinos were killed for their horns last year. In 2010, 333 were killed.
SHARE YOUR OPINION
If you have an opinion you would like to share on this article, please send us an e-mail to the Times LIVE iLIVE team. In the mean time, click here to view the Times LIVE iLIVE section.