SA tests ivory and horn DNA after bust

29 May 2015 - 02:28 By RDM News Wire

DNA samples from rhino horn recovered from a Chinese national in Mozambique have arrived in South Africa for testing to determine if the animals were poached in the Kruger National Park. Police say the arrest of a Chinese man found in possession of 124kg of rhino horn and 1126kg of ivory is the biggest bust of its kind.The combined value of the horns and ivory is estimated at R65-million, according to police."This is a very positive development for us and we have been working closely with our counterparts in Mozambique. Should the results come back positive, we will most certainly initiate an investigation to determine if we can link these suspects to cases and individuals here in South Africa," said Police Commissioner General Riah Phiyega.A task team and staff from SANParks travelled to Matola, Mozambique, and took samples of all the rhino horns .The samples will be compared to the E-Rhodis database at the University of Pretoria.SAPS spokesman Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale said it was believed that some of the rhino horns may have come from rhinos killed in the Kruger National Park, which shares a border with Mozambique."The SAPS authorities take this co-operation with Mozambique very seriously as they believe that it will assist the two countries tremendously in the fight against rhino poaching and other environmental crimes," Makgale said. ..

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