Picture for illustrative purposes: Michel Bega
A pangolin’s life is hanging by a thread after she was rescued from the claws of six poachers in a bust last week in Kyalami. The pangolin, known as Kya, was rescued in a sting operation at Kyalami Corner where six suspects were arrested. The suspects will soon make their second appearance in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court for their formal bail applications. Kya was the fourth pangolin to be rescued this year. The first bust happened in Kempton Park at the beginning of the year and the other two in the Northern Cape – one in Upington and the other.
Picture: Supplied
Six suspects suspected of being part of a pangolin poaching syndicate will appear in the Midrand Magistrate’s Court today after they were caught red-handed with a captured animal earlier this week. On Wednesday, a sting operation lead by the Hawks’ wildlife trafficking team and the Pretoria-based national intervention unit, along with Pangolin Africa, which is attached to the University of Pretoria, and Midrand detectives resulted in the arrest of six suspects at Kyalami Corner. Professor Ray Jansen, the founder of Pangolin Africa, said this was the fourth pangolin bust this year. “The first was in Kempton Park at beginning of.
During the operation, police seized a live pangolin, as well as two vehicles and several cellphones.
The group will face charges of dealing in and possession of a pangolin in contravention of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act. They were expected to appear in the Midrand Magistrate s Court on Friday.
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