Six rhino horns found at OR Tambo Airport, labelled as luxury chocolates
A 46-year old man has been arrested at the OR Tambo International
Airport in Johannesburg on Thursday in connection with the smuggling of six
rhino horns destined to have left the country for China.
Spokesperson for the Hawks, Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase, says members of the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation Team and officials from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment were summoned to the airport when a security officer operating scanners, detected a suspicious parcel.
“The parcel was allegedly declared as Ferrero and Cadbury chocolates. Upon examining the parcel, the team found six pieces of Rhino horns inside two boxes of lunch bar,” says Nkwalase.
The parcel was destined for the Shandong province in China.
“A thorough investigation by the Hawks let to the arrest of the suspect and an undisclosed amount of money was found hidden under the driver seat of his vehicle.”
Nwalase says the suspect is expected to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrates Court on Tuesday, 28 December 2021.
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