GAUTENG – Two men aged 42 and 40 are expected to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrates Court on Wednesday for illegal possession and dealing in elephant tusks.
Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit in Germiston, Endangered Species Team, and the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan SWAT unit conducted an operation at Emperors Palace near Kempton Park on Monday following information of two suspects selling elephant tusks.
The description of the suspects’ vehicles was confirmed leading and upon searching, police seized five elephant tusks wrapped and concealed in a travelling luggage.
Both vehicles, a Ford Figo and Audi Q5, were immediately seized. The suspects were the traced and apprehended at the same location during an undercover operation. The elephant tusks weighing about 45kilograms with an estimated street value of R1.2 million have since been confiscated.
Both the suspects have been charged for contravening the National Environment Management-Biodiversity (NEMBA) Act.
