South African National Parks (SANParks) yesterday, 08 November 2023, confirmed the arrests of three suspected poachers in the Stolznek Section on Tuesday, 07 November 2023.
The three were spotted by a dehorning team while flying in the area early on Tuesday morning, which alerted the section ranger who immediately activated the field rangers to intercept the three. The K9 unit was deployed in the area with support from the SANParks Airwing. The suspects were then flushed out of the thick bush and arrested. They were found in possession of a hunting rifle fitted with a silencer, ammunition, and other poaching equipment.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) and SANParks Environmental Crime Investigative Unit attended to the scene to process the arrested suspects and to obtain ballistics and DNA to investigate if the three could be linked to other poaching incidents.
Reacting to the arrests, the Managing Executive (ME) of the Kruger National Park (KNP), Mr Oscar Mthimkhulu said “We applaud all those involved in these arrests and the vigilance of the dehorning team. One group is now behind bars, and we are coming for others with similar intentions. We have eyes and ears everywhere with our improved integrated security systems. This is a warning to all criminals, KNP is not a safe place to come and commit crime” concluded Mthimkhulu.
The suspects will appear in court in due course to answer to various charges connected to this crime.
