Rhino horn suspect in court

The alleged kingpin of an international rhino-horn smuggling syndicate faces a R13-million fine if found guilty.

Chumlong Lemtongthai, a 43-year-old Thai, yesterday appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court, on the East Rand, on 23 counts of obtaining rhino hunting permits under false pretences, and shipping horns overseas.

The alleged fraud came to light after discrepancies were found in the paperwork accompanying the horns.

The case was postponed to next week after prosecutor Allen Simpson told the court there was a possibility of negotiations relating to a plea bargain.

Further investigations might be necessary if a Lemtongthai plea deal is not accepted.

Lemtongthai was arrested at a house in Edenvale, on Saturday.

He has been charged under section 80(1) of the Customs and Excise Act, which relates to the improper use of permits relating to controlled goods.

A person found guilty of contravening the act is liable to "a fine not exceeding R20000 or treble the value of the goods in respect of which such offence was committed, whichever is the greater".

Joseph Okori, the World Wildlife Fund's African rhino programme manager, said an average rhino horn weighed between 3kg and 6kg, and some weighed as much as 9kg.

According to the SA Revenue Service, Lemtongthai paid on average R65000 a kilogram for the rhino horn. The total value of the rhino horn in this case, even if calculated at the smallest average size of 3kg, would amount to R4485000.

A fine of up R13455000 could be imposed on Lemtongthai if he is convicted.

Okori said rhino horn smuggling syndicates were "getting very [sophisticated] at exploiting loopholes in the regulatory framework of Cites [Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species]".

He explained that, for a hunter to hunt rhino as a trophy legally, he would have to:

• Be legally registered as a hunter with a professional association;
• Apply to a provincial Cites management authority, specifying the animal's features and the export requirements; and
• Find a game farmer who has the required animal.

A recommendation could then be made for a permit to be issued, which would contain details of the hunter, the animal, the farm on which it was to be killed, ports of entry and exit, and the airline the horn would be carried on.

The "hunt" would be carried out with a representative of the provincial authority to ensure that it was professionally executed.

Okori said that, though this was a good policy, there was inadequate capacity for monitoring and verification.

"If this is a level-five arrest, [Lemtongthai's] position is very significant. We expect a number of links in the chain lower down to start breaking down."

A level-five arrest refers to the arrest of a person who is "a driving figure" in the international trade in rhino horn.