South African police have seized the assets of one of the accused poaching “kingpins”, Dawie Groenewald.
The date of Groenewald’s court case has been postponed until October, however the police service are able to hold his assets until the case is finalised, after which, if convicted, they are kept and the money can be put back into tackling rhino poaching. Groenewald’s assets are thought to be worth R55 million, which is over £4 million (GBP).
Groenewald and two veterinary surgeons, Drs Karel Toet and Manie Du Plessis, were charged with 1872 counts of racketeering (engaging in illegal, organized crime) making this “one of the biggest wildlife cases in South Africa”
- Click to read the story from the South African Police Service
- Read additional coverage from Jacaranda fm, where there is a short video of the raid.
More and more successful arrests are being made in South Africa. Since the beginning of May, a Vietnamese man was arrested when trying to export three rhino horns from Johnannesburg, having been monitored closely by the police after traveling in South Africa. Just a few days earlier, a Vietnamese national was arrested in a house raid where 10 rhino horns were seized.
photo credit: Steve and Ann Toon
A few moments ago I just watched a news special from msnbc, the news was bad, the slaughter of the rhino has tripled, The main problem is asia, there is a rumor that their horns cures cancer which is 100% false. The asian governments are literally doing nothing, and the south african goverments is not doing enough. Just Horrible!
There are only some fauna left ,many are in the risk of vulnerable, endangered, extinct better save them if not we have to only show pictures of them in photos to our future generations.
Pse update save our rhinos tv ad, 30-something rhinos killed this year – more like 200 ready!!!!!
This is, or should be, wonderful news. Sadly, my cynical side lingers on the words “”if convicted””. We are seeing a commendable rise in arrests but the record on convictions and suitable punishments has not been so good. I have a cheer inside but I will wait for the verdict until I let it out. Let’s hope a stiff penalty and an appropriation of these assets follows swiftly.
well done colleages. i feel happy with what is happening in SA to ensure rhinos are safe. we in Kenya are also doing the same to ensure nil death of rhinos. put more and more efforts
this is sooo terrible