KZN three appear over rhino poaching

Three men accused of rhino poaching appeared in the Ubombo Magistrate's Court on Monday, KwaZulu-Natal police said.

Soli Berdne, 44, Mthembu Mfaniseni, 33, and Solomon Tembe, 44, would remain in custody and would be back in court next Monday, Captain Thulani Zwane said.

The organised crime unit arrested the men on Friday afternoon near Jozini Dam in the Nisela Nature Reserve, after an unlicensed firearm and ten rounds of ammunition were found in their vehicle.

Police suspected that the weapon and ammunition could have been intended for poaching.

"The police will establish whether the suspects are linked to other cases of poaching in the area, and the recovered firearm will be taken to ballistics to ascertain whether it was used in the commission of any other crime in the country," Zwane said.