Chinese man caught with 18 rhino horns ELLANIE SMIT A Chinese national in transit from Windhoek to Hong Kong was arrested with 18 rhino horns at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Wednesday afternoon.
Namibian Police spokesperson Edwin Kanguatjivi yesterday confirmed that the 28-year-old Chinese man was arrested in South Africa after he departed from Hosea Kutako International Airport on Wednesday morning at 06:40.
He was travelling on board a South African Airways flight to Hong Kong.
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.
It is unclear whether the rhino horns are from Namibia. DNA tests will have to be conducted to determine the country of origin.
The luggage in which the horns were found was sealed and only opened at the airport in Johannesburg, which clearly indicated that the Chinese national had smuggled the horns through Hosea Kutako, where scanners had not detected them.
According to a statement issued by the South African Hawks the rhino horns, weighing 43kg, were valued at around N$6.6 million.
The Chinese national, whose name is known but cannot be made public yet, will appear before the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court today.
The case has raised questions about airport security at Hosea Kutako.
A spokesperson for the Namibia Airports Company (NAC), Dan Kamati, did not respond to Namibian Sun’s calls.
News about the arrest in South Africa came shortly after a shocking announcement that seven rhinos were killed by poachers in the Etosha National Park this month.
Earlier this year four Chinese nationals were found guilty of trying to smuggle 14 rhino horns worth N$2.2 million out of the country. Three of the men were caught at the Hosea Kutako International Airport in March 2014 when the rhino horns were found in their luggage.
Namibia has lost 47 rhinos to poaching so far this year.