After 4 months of investigation, the arrest was officially carried out on August 12th while the police officers were searching his farm in Bela-Bela town of Limpopo province, and 2 storage facilities at Pretoria.
According to the South Africa Ministry of Environment, the Vietnamese man was arrested due to “involvement in an illegal wildlife trading operation and illegal possession of firearms”. After consecutive raids, South Africa police officers seized 4.2 kilograms of lion’s canine, 680 grams of lion’s claw, and more than 60 kilograms of “processed animal products”.
The Vietnamese suspect appeared in court on August 13th with allegations of “illegal endangered animals possession”. However, the representative of the South Africa Ministry of Environment announced that the case would be procrastinated until August 20th in order to receive the presence of a professional interpreter.
“This man was prosecuted due to possessing illegal endangered animals, which violated the laws of The National Biodiversity Management”, according to DEFF’s report. From DEFF viewpoint, the campaign displays the importance of coordinating the investigation together with the support from the private sector”.
The AFP Agency claims that smuggler groups tend to transact claws, leather and bones of alligators or lions from Africa to Asia, where they are admirably used as medicines and valuable decorations.
Source: Tuoi Tre Online
