HAWKS ARREST SUSPECT FOR DEALING IN ENDANGERED SPECIES (PANGOLIN).
REPORTER: TSHEPO C MOLOTO: LIMPOPO – Collaborative efforts to curb the scourge of wildlife trafficking between the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation, CIC National Security, D-Dass and Hoedspruit Farmawatch resulted in the arrest of a 59-year-old suspected pangolin dealer in Gravelotte outside Tzaneen on 17 May 2023.
The team received a tip-off about a suspect who was allegedly on the way to sell a pangolin in Hoedspruit. Without any waste of time, the team followed up on the information and a suspicious vehicle was spotted in Gravelotte.
Upon stopping and searching the suspicious vehicle, the team found a pangolin valued at R150 000-00 hidden in the boot inside the bag. The suspect failed to produce a permit for being in possession of a pangolin and was immediately placed under arrest.
The suspect is expected to appear in the Namakgale Magistrate Court’s tomorrow, 19 May 2023 to face charges relating to illegal dealing in endangered species (pangolin)
