South Africa seizes assets of suspected rhino poachers
South African police have seized assets valued at approximately £4million/$7million from three men accused of rhino poaching, two of whom are understood to be vets. The three have been charged with 1,872 counts of racketeering and the authorities elected to confiscate the assets, which are suspected “to have been acquired through criminal means”, until the conclusion of their trials.
Commenting, Police spokesman Colonel Vishnu Naidoo confirmed that the proceeds of the seizure would be used to “continue with the combating of crime" should the men be convicted and stated that "We call for assets of every person arrested to be scrutinised and where possible, seized...Generally, those that commit such crimes will serve their sentences but still come back to a life of luxury. By seizing assets, criminals have no worldly possessions to enjoy and this certainly helps send out a clear message that crime does not pay."
Rhino poaching is a chronic problem for South Africa and the multi-billion dollar illegal trade in rhino horn has long targeted the country due to its large rhino population of approximately 20,000 animals (believed to be between 70% and 80% of the global total). Instances of poaching have risen in recent years due to increased demand for the use of powdered rhino horn in traditional Chinese medicine despite scientific proof that it has no medicinal benefits. The black market price for rhino horn is currently approximately £35,000/$55,000 per kilo, which is roughly equivalent to the price of pure gold.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
