Airport Cop arrested In Rhino-Horn Case

[NamStay]

01 December 2016

A sergeant in the Namibian police has been arrested in connection with a case in which a Chinese national was arrested with 18 rhino horns at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg last week.

Sergeant Pendapala Abraham Iitula,42, who worked at Hosea Kutako International Airport, appeared before the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court in Katutura yesterday on a charge of defeating and obstructing the course of justice.

Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Edwin Kanguatjivi said Iitula was granted bail of N$2 000 and the case was postponed to 3 February next year.

Iitula was the person operating the scanner in the passenger screening area at the airport.

Iitula was arrested on Monday at 18:00, only a few days after a full-scale investigation was launched into activities at Hosea Kutako International Airport.

The probe was ordered after it was discovered that the 18 rhino horns found in the possession of Ye ZhiWe, 28, in Johannesburg had in fact been detected by scanners at Hosea Kutako.

The investigations at Hosea Kutako were launched by Namibian authorities after it was found that even though the scanners detected these illegal rhino horns in the luggage of Ye, who was in transit from Windhoek to Hong Kong, he was still allowed to board a South African Airways flight.

Ye was arrested after the South African Hawks received an anonymous tip-off and discovered the rhino horns hidden in his luggage. The rhino horns were tightly wrapped in industrial cling wrap.

The rhino horns, weighing 43kg, were valued at around N$6.6 million.

Ye made his second court appearance yesterday in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court. Hawks spokesperson Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu said the case was postponed to 13 December for a formal bail application. He was remanded in custody.

Credit: ELLANIE SMIT

Source: https://www.namibiansun.com/news/airport-cop-arrested-in-rhino-horn-case-/

 

[CAustin]

Thank you for sharing!

 

[BRICKBURN]

There should be no bail hearing for these guys.

 

[Hank2211]

There is good news in all of this.

The African justice system actually appears to be working. The smuggler was caught in South Africa, and within days of an investigation being launched, someone involved in Namibia has been arrested.

I continue to believe, though, that a ban is not a good idea. Bans have never worked, whether for drugs, alcohol, porn or anything else. Rhino horns are a renewable resource. If we could just get away from the view that using animals in any form is wicked and evil, I have little doubt that Africans could flood the world with rhino horn while ensuring not only the long term survival of rhinos, but in fact their flourishing.

 

[BRICKBURN]

There should be no bail hearing for these guys.

Another thought struck:
They should try "International" pricing on the fines too.
USD vs ND or Rand.
Then up the fines about 50 times.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

There is good news in all of this.

The African justice system actually appears to be working. The smuggler was caught in South Africa, and within days of an investigation being launched, someone involved in Namibia has been arrested.

I continue to believe, though, that a ban is not a good idea. Bans have never worked, whether for drugs, alcohol, porn or anything else. Rhino horns are a renewable resource. If we could just get away from the view that using animals in any form is wicked and evil, I have little doubt that Africans could flood the world with rhino horn while ensuring not only the long term survival of rhinos, but in fact their flourishing.

Yep. Everybody eats chicken but you never hear about endangered chickens. Set up a properly functioning rhino horn market and there would be no shortage of rhino. There would even be a contingent who would pay extra for rhino horn labeled "fair trade", "organic", and/or "hormone free". But I suppose the bunny-huggers would rather protect them into extinction than face reality.

 

[Scott Slough]

Everybody eats chickens because they are easily "farmed" ... rhinos ... not so much.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

Everybody eats chickens because they are easily "farmed" ... rhinos ... not so much.

Not easy to farm rhinos. And not worth it if you can't make a profit doing so.