Nardus Rossouw: first of Groenewald's co-accused to be convicted and sentenced for illegally trafficking rhino horn

A Limpopo man who faces a string of criminal charges together with alleged rhino horn kingpin Dawie Groenewald has been fined R100 000 in a separate matter.

Nardus Rossouw, a professional hunter who was charged along with Groenewald's Musina Mafia in 2010, appeared in the Mokopane Regional Court on Tuesday after spending the last year in police custody for illegally trafficking rhino horns without permits.

He is the first of Groenewald's co-accused to be convicted of and sentenced for illegally trafficking rhino horn.

Rossouw chose to pay the fine rather than the alternate five-year prison sentence but was not released from custody. He remains behind bars for violating bail conditions applicable to his 2010 arrest.

He could remain in jail until the Groenewald trial starts in 2021, pending a successful appeal. Rossouw also forfeited his previous bail of R20 000.

Dodgy scheme

Rossouw was fingered after a dodgy scheme designed to outwit Limpopo conservation officials and sell horns illegally on the black market went sour.

According to the charge sheet, a number of rhinoceros were legally dehorned on April 5, 2016, at a Lephalale game farm belonging to Adriaan Du Plessis, leaving him as the registered owner of 11 rhino horns.

However, after experiencing a problem with the microchip scanner, Rossouw suggested the horns be taken to a veterinarian for scanning.

After the scanning was finished, a Limpopo Environment department (LEDET) officer instructed Rossouw to take the horns back to Du Plessis.

Less than a month later, members of the Hawks arranged an undercover operation after receiving information about a possible illegal rhino horn deal that was about to go down.

Three people were later arrested with 18 rhino horns, and further investigations established that seven of the horns originated from the recent dehorning at Du Plessis' farm.

Du Plessis acknowledged that he unlawfully gave 11 rhino horns to Rossouw without him being in possession of a valid permit.

As part of a plea agreement, Du Plessis was sentenced to an R200 000 or five years' imprisonment, half of which was suspended.

Illegal dehorning

Coincidentally, the charges Rossouw and Du Plessis were convicted of, are similar to some of the charges on the Groenewald charge sheet.

According to that dossier, Rossouw allegedly conspired with Du Plessis in 2009 to dehorn rhinos illegally and sell the horns at a profit.

While the Groenewald Gang case has been postponed multiple occasions since 2010 due to challenges from the defense and the lack of readiness of the State to proceed, Rossouw is listed as a central player in that enterprise.

Groenewald allegedly illegally lured wealthy American hunters to hunt rhinos at his Musina farm Prachtig and sourced rhino horns from other farmers for the illegal international black market.

In September 2010, Groenewald, Rossouw and nine others were arrested after twenty-six rhino carcasses were excavated at Groenewald's property. Their horns are alleged to have been sold to Asian crime syndicates in violation of international laws and treaties.

In 2014, the United States Department of Justice appealed to South Africa to extradite Groenewald and his brother Janneman to face criminal charges there, including money laundering and violations of the Lacey Act, the USA's oldest environmental law.

The process stalled last year after a Limpopo court overturned their arrest by Interpol.

I love it how South Africa is fighting illegal hunting.

$7,000 fines??

As I mentioned on another thread, South Africa has become the capital of corruption.!

Fines haven't kept pace with the times. When I was working in Bophuthatswana in the early '80s, the fine for trafficking a specially protected species was R200,000 or 20 years. As can be seen, that hasn't changed, but in the early '80s the exchange rate between the USD and the Rand was close onto 1:1 and when I first went to South Africa the Rand was stronger than the dollar.

But irrespective of that, where this whole thing falls flat on its face is that the magistrate's discretionary powers are too broad. When you look at rhino horn in terms of $100,000/kg, virtually no fine is going to be a deterrent, so if the laws are going to be changed they need to incorporate minimum, mandatory prison sentences.

5 years for a first offence, and 10 for a second or subsequent offence is still not going to be a deterrent in some cases. In the Zambezi Valley, a rural villager in the role of poacher will not be put off because he has nothing in the first place, but these penalties are good for traffickers.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
I love it how South Africa is fighting illegal hunting.

$7,000 fines??

As I mentioned on another thread, South Africa has become the capital of corruption.!

Yup. It does seem rather ridiculous doesn't it?

Not sure who is the worst - the poachers or the judiciary.

Crime does not become rampant if the judiciary does not support it!

South Africa is setting standards in this!

If they legalized the trade in rhino horn, it would probably put an end to poaching. Same with ivory.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:
Not sure who is the worst - the poachers or the judiciary.

It is at least possible that the judge followed the sentencing guidelines.

In government corruption starts at the top!

I don't think legalising the trade would end poaching, because the market is insatiable and the black market will always be there. Current stockpiles are nowhere near capable of flooding the market.

What legalising the trade would do is provide a revenue stream for protecting what rhino are left.

quote:

Originally posted by nopride2:
If they legalized the trade in rhino horn, it would probably put an end to poaching. Same with ivory.

Dave

In fact, the judge probably did.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:
Not sure who is the worst - the poachers or the judiciary.

It is at least possible that the judge followed the sentencing guidelines.