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A joint police task force operation struck an illegal Vietnamese trade union that was operating in the northwestern northwest this weekend after at least 40 lions were reported killed on a lion farm near Klerksdorp .
according to Hawks spokesperson Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso, six foreign nationals and two South African men were arrested as part of a multi-disciplinary operation carried out by members of the Potchefstroom Crime Intelligence Unit, the units of the police, and the police. Air squadrons Hawks and the Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp.
The police decided to arrest the suspects after closely monitoring the activities on a farm near Hartbeesfontein, on the N12 between Klerksdorp and Wolmaransstad.
It is alleged that at least 30 lions were killed on the farm Saturday, while 10 more lions were killed on Friday.
The suspects were intercepted as they were traveling in convoy from farm N12 to an unused farm in Mareetsane. After searching a Toyota Hilux white bakkie, a Lexus silver sport utility vehicle, and a trailer, the trailer's agents found lion bones, lion meat, tiger skin, gas cylinders, burners. gas, containers, a saw, knives and other material alleged to have been used treat the lion bones.
The suspects took the team to a farm about 30 km from Klerksdorp, where the lions were reportedly slaughtered. On the farm, a lion skin was found in the bush and large machines – which would have been used to cut the bones – were also found in the garage.
One of the arrested South African suspects is a 22-year-old man who works in a notorious Vietnamese-owned hunting lodge linked to rhinoceros horn smuggling and rhinoceros smuggling. Lion bones and tiger body parts.
The eight suspects, aged between 22 and 60, are expected to appear for the first time in Klerksdorp's court of first instance on Tuesday. They will face a number of charges, including unlawful possession of gaming products without authorization, and the conduct of restricted activities involving a specimen of a listed, threatened or protected species.
The National Council of Companies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is also currently battling a legal battle to ban government policy authorizing the export of skeletons of lions to Southeast Asia, where they are turned into dubious products disguised as a "miracle cure". and potions.
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