South Africa News

Suspected rhino horn dealer arrested at OR Tambo Airport

On Tuesday, the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit caught a suspicious traveller at the O.R Tambo International Airport with 30kg of rhino horns.According to police spokesperson, Captain Ndivhumo Mulamu, the suspect was arrested before he could board his flight to the Middle East.

“The Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation apprehended the suspect at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday whilst he was reportedly travelling to the United Arab Emirates (UAE),” Captain Mulamu confirmed.At this point, authorities are treating the suspect as an alleged dealer.

“He was arrested immediately and will be facing charges of possession of rhino horns and contravention of Section 57 of the National Environmental Management-Biodiversity (Nemba) Act.” the police said.

The trading of horn is illegal in South Africa. This is in line with the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) regulations.

Therefore, a conviction on the charges could see the suspect spend anywhere between 15 to 40 years in prison.

“The suspect is expected to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, for alleged illegal possession of rhino horns valued at a substantial amount of money,” he saidSouth Africa has had to double down on its efforts to protect the endangered species since its horns are a well-sought-after commodity in the black market.

Based on the Asian market’s 2018 black market prices, The Conversation calculated that for a kilogram of rhino horns, sellers can get R933 929 ($65 000).

Related: Hawks arrest two suspects in possession of 167 rhino horns

Using this figure (which may fluctuate based on currency behaviour), we can estimate that the 30kg seized by the Hawks is worth R28-million in the black market.

You might also like…Coca-Cola reformulates beverages following tax

Coca-Cola South Africa has cut the sugar in its drinks by a quarter (26%) since the government introduced a tax on sugary drinks, according to Camilla Osborne, Head of Communications for Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa.

Coca-Cola

On 1 April 2018, Treasury imposed a Health Promotion Levy of 2.1 cents per gram of sugar on all sweetened drinks but made the first 4g of sugar per 100ml exempt from taxation as an incentive for manufacturers to cut the sugar content.
In South Africa, over a two-year period, we had reduced average sugar content across our portfolio by 26%, ahead of industry commitments of 15%,” Osborne said….Read more here

Source: Timeslive