Three rhino poachers have been sentenced to an effective 34 and 39 years imprisonment respectively by Skukuza Regional Court on Tuesday. The men were arrested in November 2019 by rangers from the Lower Sabie and Crocodile Bridge sections of the Kruger National Park after they were found with five rhino horns.  

ARRESTED BY FIELD RANGER 

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the suspects were arrested inside the Kruger National Park around Malelane area by a field ranger on 23 November 2019. "According to the report, the field ranger who was on duty spotted a suspicious looking white Hyundai H1 with two visible occupants. He decided to stop it to conduct a spot check,' Mohlala said. He added that the ranger requested the permit which was produced and seemed to be in order as it was bearing the names of the two visible occupants. Whilst the ranger was still speaking to the driver, he noticed that there were two other people lying flat on the floor behind the back seats. The field ranger requested the driver to switch off the engine and hand the car keys to him. He then instructed the driver open the rear door to search it. "The field ranger then opened the sliding door and unexpectedly found the fourth passenger who was lying on the vehicle floor with the firearm pointed at the door. A search began whereby five rhino horns, one hunting rifle with a silencer, fourteen live rounds, two knives and five mobile phones were found in the vehicle.' Mohlala said. 

 
COURT APPEARANCES AND SENTENCING 

The five suspects made several court appearances and were later all granted bail. Two of the five suspects did not return to court; only three attended until the matter was finalised on Tuesday.  Zwelithini Mathebula (37) and Lucky Mhlongo (39) were sentenced to 34 years imprisonment each for killing endangered species, possession of unlicensed firearm, possession of ammunition, conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of dangerous weapons. Teddy Dlamini (37) was sentenced to 39 years imprisonment for all the cases including pointing a firearm. The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela commended the dedicated and brave field ranger.