“This complex investigation, which was also supported by the Department’s Enforcement Unit (the Green Scorpions) and the National Prosecuting Authority, is a powerful demonstration of South Africa’s resolve to protect its natural heritage,” Dr George said. “The Hawks’ work shows that our enforcement agencies will not hesitate to pursue those who plunder our wildlife for criminal profit.”

The arrests followed a seven-year investigation by the Wildlife Trafficking Section of the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit, which uncovered a fraudulent scheme involving 964 rhino horns worth millions of rand. The horns were destined for illegal markets in Southeast Asia.

Investigators allege that the syndicate secured Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) permits under false pretences, allowing them to buy and sell rhino horn domestically while illegally channelling the horns abroad.

Domestic trade in rhino horn is permitted with valid DFFE-issued permits under the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) of 2004. However, international commercial trade remains banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The six suspects, five men and one woman aged between 49 and 84, face charges of fraud, theft and contravention of NEMBA, with further charges of racketeering and money laundering under consideration. They surrendered at Sunnyside Police Station and appeared before the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on 19 August 2025.

Dr George underscored that the government would not relent in its crackdown on syndicates exploiting South Africa’s wildlife.

“The illegal trade in rhino horn not only destroys biodiversity but also undermines the rule of law and the foundations of environmental governance,” he said. “Let there be no doubt: South Africa will bring the full force of its laws against those who plunder our wildlife. This arrest proves that syndicates cannot escape justice, no matter how complex their schemes.”

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Investigations revealed that the suspects allegedly defrauded the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) by securing permits under false pretences to buy and sell rhino horns domestically, while funnelling them into illegal international markets.

Under South African law, domestic trade is permitted with a valid DFFE-issued permit in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) of 2004.

International commercial trade in rhino horn is banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

“After a seven-year investigation, the Wildlife Trafficking Section of the Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit has dismantled a major transnational rhino horn trafficking network.

“The six suspects, between the ages of 49 and 84, face charges of fraud, theft, and contravention of the NEMBA, with additional charges of racketeering and money laundering under consideration,” the department said.

The six suspects, five men and one woman, surrendered to the Hawks at Sunnyside Police Station.

The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, has hailed the arrests as a decisive victory in South Africa’s fight against international wildlife crime.

“This complex investigation, which was also supported by the Enforcement unit of the Department (the Green Scorpions) and the National Prosecuting Authority, is a powerful demonstration of South Africa’s resolve to protect its natural heritage.

“The Hawks’ work shows that our enforcement agencies will not hesitate to pursue those who plunder our wildlife for criminal profit. The illegal trade in rhino horn not only destroys biodiversity but also undermines the rule of law and the foundations of environmental governance,” the Minister said.

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The research, co-led by the University of Cape Town (UCT), focused on 11 reserves in South Africa’s Greater Kruger region from 2017 to 2023 – a critical conservation area that is home to approximately 25% of Africa’s remaining rhino population.

The study was the result of a powerful collaboration between reserve managers, represented by the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF), and scientists from UCT’s Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Nelson Mandela University, Stellenbosch University and the University of Oxford. Key partners who supported the study include the South African National Parks, the World Wildlife Fund South Africa and the Rhino Recovery Fund.

“We documented the poaching of 1 985 rhinos (about 6.5% of the population annually) across 11 Greater Kruger reserves over seven years. This landscape is a critical global stronghold that conserves around 25% of all Africa’s rhinos,” said Dr Tim Kuiper, lead author, who conducted the work as a postdoctoral researcher at UCT and is now a senior lecturer at Nelson Mandela University.

“Dehorning rhinos to reduce incentives for poaching (2 284 rhinos were dehorned across eight reserves) was found to achieve a 78% reduction in poaching using just 1.2% of the overall rhino protection budget,” added Dr Kuiper 

Using a comparative approach between dehorned and horned rhino populations and tracking changes over time, the study shows that dehorning is a highly cost-effective intervention – though not without challenges. Some poaching for horn stumps and regrowth continued, and evidence from 2024–2025 indicates this remains a growing concern. The potential displacement of poaching to horned populations elsewhere also remains a critical consideration.

Between 2017 and 2021, the reserves invested approximately $74 million (R1 billion) in anti-poaching strategies – including ranger patrols, tracking dogs, helicopters and surveillance technology. Despite this massive investment, the study found no statistically significant evidence that these traditional law enforcement measures alone reduced poaching.

“Finally, ineffective criminal justice systems mean that arrested offenders often escape punishment, with evidence from our study area of multiple repeat offenders,” said Dr Kuiper.

This study stands out not only for its findings but also for its model of science-policy collaboration. The research was sparked by GKEPF reserve managers themselves, who sought to evaluate the effectiveness of their anti-poaching investments.

“The true value of this innovative study, conceived by GKEPF operational managers, lies in its collective critical thinking. Ensuring not only that operations are guided by science, but also that science is grounded in real experience from the frontline,”
said Sharon Hausmann, CEO of GKEPF.

Dr Markus Hofmeyr of the Rhino Recovery Fund said: “From a donor perspective this study has given excellent insight where conservation donor funding can be spent and where to avoid funding.”

“This collaboration is a brilliant example of how the effectiveness of conservation interventions can be assessed quantitatively, even in challenging and complex situations, and how important the participation of on-the-ground practitioners is in initiating, and interpreting, such research,” said Professor Dame E.J. Milner-Gulland of the University of Oxford.

“It’s important to check that our conservation interventions work as intended, and keep working that way. For me, this project has again highlighted the value of collecting detailed data, both on the interventions that were applied and the outcome. It’s such data that makes robust quantitative analyses possible,” said UCT Professor Res Altwegg, who supervised the statistical analysis.

The findings open a timely window for governments, funders, conservation NGOs and the private sector to rethink and recalibrate strategies in addressing wildlife crime, particularly rhino poaching, with a renewed focus on data-driven and cost-effective interventions.

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The province, according to Forestry, Fisheries and Environment minister Dion Georg, lost 232 rhinos to poachers in 2024, with him, according to a statement, calling this “a notable decline” from the 325 in 2023.

All told, South Africa’s rhino population dropped by 420 last year, continuing a national downward trend in the loss of this Big Five species. In 2023 499 rhinos were poached – 79 more than in 2024.

Three hundred and twenty rhinos were killed on what the Minister termed “State properties” which presumably include national parks such as Kruger and provincial reserves such as the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife flagship Hluhluwe-iMfolozi. A hundred privately owned rhino fell to poachers nationally last year.

The KwaZulu-Natal “significant reduction” George attributes to the provincial conservation agency’s dehorning project. A Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) statement has him saying: “the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) funded programme, implemented between October and November 2024, had an immediate impact, with monthly poaching numbers dropping from 35 in April to fewer than 10 per month between May and September 2024”.

“In October, however, poaching syndicates adapted their tactics and began targeting dehorned rhinos, leading to a sudden spike in poaching incidents in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park and in that month alone, the province lost 27 rhinos. Fortunately, the provincial anti-rhino poaching team responded swiftly, intercepting the new syndicate and preventing further losses. These considerable efforts resulted in the province ultimately achieving a 67% decline in rhino poaching over the eight months.”

The Kruger National Park, straddling Limpopo and Mpumalanga and bordering Mozambique and Zimbabwe, reported 88 poached rhinos in 2024 – 10 more than the previous year.

“Up until the end of November 2024, rhino losses reported in the Kruger National Park stood at 67, but a significant escalation in rhino poaching activities was experienced during December 2024 and this has continued into January 2025. A total of 21 rhino were reported poached in Kruger National Park during December 2024 and a further 17 were reported poached during January 2025. This escalation in rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park is of great concern,” George said.

National conservation agency SANParks along with its KwaZulu-Natal provincial equivalent, continue with “actions and initiatives” to counter rhino poaching in identified hotspot areas. These include polygraph testing for staff, information sharing and co-operation with stakeholders ranging from Department of Home Affairs (DHA) customs officials as well as Border Management Authority (BMA) inspection staff.

Minister George acknowledged some “good convictions” in rhino poaching and related cases while expressing concern at the length of time taken to finalise cases. “Expediting these cases through our courts as well as vigorously opposing bail will no doubt result in safeguarding more rhino,” the statement has him saying.

He pointed to an 18-year sentence handed to Francis Kipampa as “sending out a strong message”.

“Not only are we focusing on arresting those involved in poaching our rhino and trafficking the horn, but we are disrupting the higher up levels in the value chain. This project [Blood Orange] is an excellent example of the integrated and multi-disciplinary approach to investigating organised crime linked to wildlife and ensuring that we target corruption, money laundering and the financial crimes associated with these activities. More of these focussed investigations are needed as we continue to implement the National Integrated Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking.

“As we move into the second year of implementation of this strategy, partnerships within government, with authorities in transit and destination countries as well as with the private sector and non-governmental organisations remain critical. We need to continue to integrate and focus our effort through our existing programmes and forums, including the Integrated Wildlife Zones Initiative (IWZI), the work of the South African Anti-Money Laundering Integrated Task Force, the Illegal Wildlife Trade Task Force and various task teams residing under the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) Priority Committee on Wildlife Trafficking.”

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