A white BMW rolled into the parking lot at Waterfall Mall in Rustenburg on Wednesday, 4 November. To the shoppers around it, it was just another car looking for a bay. In the boot were two live pangolins, and police were already waiting, Joburg Etc reports.
Originally published via Joburg {etc}
A tip-off that led to the mall
The bust started with information that reached Crime Intelligence in Ivory Park. According to the SA Police Service (SAPS), the tip pointed to a group allegedly trading in endangered species. They reportedly had two female pangolins and were lining up buyers at roughly R500 000 each.
Police then pulled together a team from different units and provinces. It included Crime Intelligence from Ivory Park and the North West, the Ivory Park Task Team, Phokeng K9, the Rustenburg Tactical Response Team and Safeguard Risk Services. They set up at the mall and watched the parking lot.
What police found in the boot
When the BMW arrived, the team intercepted it. Officers got permission to search the car and found the two pangolins in the boot.
The four men inside, aged between 38 and 51, reportedly couldn’t give a reasonable explanation for the animals. They were arrested for unlawful possession of endangered species. Police also found false registration plates on the BMW, and the vehicle was seized.
Rustenburg’s Local Criminal Record Centre and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment were called to the scene. The department took the pangolins into its care. SAPS puts their combined value at about R1 million.
Why pangolins are such a target
Pangolins are widely described as the most trafficked mammals in the world. Their scales, which are made of keratin, the same material as our fingernails, are in demand in some traditional medicine markets abroad, and their meat is sold as a delicacy. Here at home, it’s the Temminck’s ground pangolin that’s at risk.
Pangolins are shy, slow and harmless. Their only defence is curling into a ball, which makes them easy to pick up. International trade in all eight species has been banned under CITES since 2017, and selling them locally is a crime too.
The numbers are staggering, but they also show how organised this trade can be. These weren’t two animals picked up on a whim. They were allegedly priced, advertised and lined up for buyers, with a car on false plates to move them. Police say their investigation continues, and they want to establish the suspects’ wider criminal network. The real test will be whether that network is dismantled, or whether the next car just takes a different mall.
What happens next
The four suspects are due to appear in the Rustenburg Magistrates’ Court today, Friday, 6 November. They face charges under the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 10 of 2004.
North West Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Arthur Peter Adams praised the units involved for working together and acting fast. He said SAPS remains committed to protecting the country’s endangered species and bringing wildlife criminals to book.
Originally published via Joburg {etc}
Follow us on social media for more travel news, inspiration, and guides. You can also tag us to be featured.
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Spotify
ALSO READ:
How one giant tortoise helped save an entire species in the Galápagos
