'Callous' rhino poaching - 11 get bail

Musina - Eleven people, including two veterinarians, a pilot and a game farmer, all allegedly part of a "callous" rhino poaching syndicate, were granted bail in the Musina Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.

"The accused are alleged to be part of a syndicate which operates around Polokwane, Modimolle and Musina, and have been involved in rhino poaching, killing, selling of the horns, as well as disposing of the carcasses of the rhinos," NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said.

Looking tense, the accused were crammed into the dock while photographers - some of whom had earlier been detained by police for taking their photographs - snapped their pictures.

Most of the men were wearing khaki shirts and denims.

Sariette Groenewald, wearing a striped dress, stood next to her game farmer husband, Dawie Groenewald, while Mariza Toet, a petite blonde dressed in a polka dot top, was wedged between her veterinarian husband Karel Toet, and his colleague, Manie du Plessis, the two alleged masterminds.

R1m bail

Groenewald was set the highest bail amount - R1m - his wife was released on R100 000, Toet on R50 000, and his wife on R20 000 bail.

Du Plessis, professional hunter Tielman Roos Erasmus, Dewald Gouws, Nardus Rossouw, Leon van der Merwe, and Jacobus Martinus Pronk were released on R20 000 bail each, and Paul Matomela on R5 000.

Their bail conditions included that they refrain from tampering with 32 rhinos currently on Groenewald's game farm, Pragtig, in Musina.

Family members relieved audible sighs of relief when the accused were granted bail.

Court proceedings, which were in Afrikaans and Sotho, were delayed in the morning amid reports that the police had made more arrests.

Embarrassment

Earlier, while photographers waited outside the Musina police station to take pictures of the 11 accused, two photographers and a cameraman were detained.

Sapa photographer Werner Beukes, Beeld photographer Herman Verwey, and SABC cameraman Lewellyn Carstens were held for 45 minutes at the Musina police station after being told by the station commander that they were not allowed to take pictures.

Sapa editor Mark van der Velden expressed dismay at the incident.

The three were released after Mhaga ordered the Hawks to intervene.

"It's an embarrassment to the police that an NPA official had to intervene and explain things to the police commander," Van der Velden said.

On Monday, nine of the accused were arrested in early morning raids, with national police spokesperson Colonel Vishnu Naidoo announcing it was believed they had been involved "in several hundred incidents of rhino poaching over the past years".

Two more arrests were made on Wednesday.

According to African Eye News Service (AENS), one of the investigating officers, who did not want to be named said at least five more arrests are expected to be made as the investigation continues.

AENS was also reliably told that the police were busy digging up rhino carcasses on a farm near Musina.

Massacre

Naidoo described the alleged actions by the accused as a "callous massacre of rhinoceros".

"From January this year to date, 204 rhinos were mercilessly killed compared to 122 for the whole of last year, which is indicative of the enormity of the problem," said Naidoo.

The NPA's Mhaga said the group faced charges ranging from "assault, defeating the ends of justice, fraud, corruption, malicious injury to property, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, contravention of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act, No 10 of 2010 (Nemba), contravention in terms of the Medicines and Related Substances Act, No 101 of 1965; as well as contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, No 121 of 1998."

Their first court appearance happened on International Rhino day and on the same day that the World Wildlife Fund launched its "Make a noise for rhino day" initiative in support of the country's "rhino warriors" - the men and women who risk their lives daily fighting gangs running the illegal rhino horn trade.

The case was postponed to April 11.

- SAPA

Cheers,

~Alan

"justice delayed is justice denied..."

Time for them to contact their customers and get some piche-book money to keep the supply of horn flowing...

Rich

You are so right. By the time April comes around there is no telling what kind of money will have changed hands.

BTW, what is "piche-book money"? Even Google can't find that one.

~Alan

Chump change to these individuals. I'm sure money will exchange hands under the table UNLESS, someone or some group is steadfast in their conviction to protect the Rhino's future interests. As long as there are willing buyers of illegal products, there will be suppliers. If you want to kill the serpent, cut off its head, not the tail.
LDK

Alan,

the Peche Book (Pee-Shee Book) is an eastern european custom, transplanted into the steel mill towns that brought emigrants to the US from about 1870 until the start of WWI. Poles, Hungarians, Armenians, Czechs, you name it. They settled into neighborhoods in the mid west steel town I grew up in outside of St Louis. They had their ethnic grocery and clothing stores; and the merchants offered credit. They had this big ledger-style book, and would make notes of what Mamma and Grandma bought at the store during the week, and on payday Friday (every other week was Peche Book Friday) the husband would come down with Mamma to shop and pay the bill. I am not 100% on the spelling, could be Pieche.

Just a term I grew up with. People would make deals to buy or sell something and say "Cash money or Peche Book?" The original installment loan program...

regards,

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Alan,

the Peche Book (Pee-Shee Book) is an eastern european custom, transplanted into the steel mill towns that brought emigrants to the US from about 1870 until the start of WWI. Poles, Hungarians, Armenians, Czechs, you name it. They settled into neighborhoods in the mid west steel town I grew up in outside of St Louis. They had their ethnic grocery and clothing stores; and the merchants offered credit. They had this big ledger-style book, and would make notes of what Mamma and Grandma bought at the store during the week, and on payday Friday (every other week was Peche Book Friday) the husband would come down with Mamma to shop and pay the bill. I am not 100% on the spelling, could be Pieche.

Just a term I grew up with. People would make deals to buy or sell something and say "Cash money or Peche Book?" The original installment loan program...

regards,

Rich

The kind of ledger the IRS would like to get their hands on

OK, thanks for the explanation. I didn't recognize the term but the same concept was well known here in the cotton fields of the Deep South.

Speaking of ledger books and the IRS, I am sure that South Africa has their own version. I wonder why the SA tax people aren't pursuing an investigation of how a discredited police sergeant rocketed into becoming a 'wealthy game farmer' as the newspapers call him?

Oh wait, this ain't over yet is it?

Cheers,

~Alan

Hi Alan,

thanks for doind a superb job of keeping us all up to speed with developments on this rhino poaching fiasco

But just one question. Why do you keep opening up NEW discussion threads for each aditional piece of news? It's starting to get difficult to follow all the pieces...

There are now Five sepparate threads open on this topic:

This one plus

http://forums.accuratereloadin...043/m/2061059041/p/1

plus

http://forums.accuratereloadin...1411043/m/1491099041

plus

http://forums.accuratereloadin...1411043/m/2031040141

plus

http://forums.accuratereloadin...1411043/m/7281050141

I appreciate your effort, just curious....

Alan, South Africa is riddled with ex policemen that rocketed to overnight wealth (some current policemen spring to mind as well!)

Our company has had a run in with one of these upstanding individuals and have lost a lot of cash in the process. Then you add some crooked lawyers in the mix and..........

Stephen,

It is simple, this is the biggest scandal in history to ever hit the worldwide hunting industry. The fact that these criminals were vigorously promoted, and then, just as vigorously protected by SCI until they were finally indicted on multiple felonies, just adds one dimension to the story. Protected, by the way, despite dozens and dozens of ethics committee complaints, and then when finally convicted in US Federal court, and then rather than being expelled, simply allowed to 'RESIGN'. Oh yeah, SCI... First for Hunters.

A resignation leaves the door legally open for rehabilitation and future re-installment, I suppose. I even read some idiot proclaim how Dawie should be given a second chance once he proved he had rehabilitated himself.

It leaps in importance geometrically when you factor in Asian Triads, assassinations of suspected 'snitches' disguised as car jackings, heroin smuggling, diamond smuggling, extortion, rhino poaching, elephant poaching, murder, mayhem, madness, and God knows what else.

Now, I am hearing allegations that many of the SCI leaders were engaging in free rhino 'hunts', with Out of Africa keeping the horns. I wonder how many of these hunts were actually poaching operations disguised as hunts? There has to be some really compelling reason for all of this single minded protection, and I wonder if this is what is at the bottom of this diabolical cover-up. One thing is clear, the tentacles of this evil corruption reach to every continent on this planet and the some of it's richest and most powerful organizations and individuals.

When you have a leadership cadre that regularly hits the news for a host of game law violations, the most egregious being killing elephants, moose, whatever from the doors of helicopters... it makes you wonder why SCI doesn't hand out a "Door Gunner of the Year" award.

Cheers,

~Alan

quote:

Now, I am hearing allegations that many of the SCI leaders were engaging in free rhino 'hunts', with Out of Africa keeping the horns.

That is extremely disturbing.

I think it would be a great idea if members of AR wrote to the IRS & Fish & Game detailing all the issues around the various ethics violations & OOA free bees within SCI. I am sure there will be some of these people in Photos with Rhinos shot illegally! All the bad publicity would be a terrible tragedy for the hunting community but we need to clean up the act or face even worse consequences in the longer term.

Don't worry Naki, there has been a USFWS investigation going on for years. In fact, this is part of the reason they busted Dawie in Alabama.

I would not be too surprised if the IRS and their South African counterparts decide to open their own investigations.

~Alan

Hi Alan,

sorry but I don't think you followed what I was asking. I absolutely agree with all you say regarding the IMPORTANCE of the news etc.

It's a TECHNICAL question I have; why open a whole NEW thread for each additional tit-bit of news instead of keeping it consolidated into a single cohesive thread? We now have to look all over the African Big Game Hunting board to piece the whole picture together

Whenever the subject of SCI comes up on the forum, it always causes a lot of 'robust debate' at the very least.

As I've said, I think it would be a shame and indeed unfair to attack the SCI supporters who are usually so vocal in their defence of the organisation and I notice that the usual supporters have been conspicous by their absence on these threads. However, I'd be very interested to hear if they think the organisation as a whole will be affected by the rhino poaching issue and if so, how?

I should say that whilst I'm very keen to see all the guilty parties involved caught and hung out to dry I'd hate to see innocent members punished...... but I am very interested to hear the views of those ordinary members?

Steve,

I think you and me have been most vocal in our criticism of SCI actions regarding both Out of Africa, their so called "ethics" committee, and how much money they pay back into African wildlife.

Regardless of that, I certainly do not wish to see SCI get stuck in all sorts of very negative publicity.

All this will do is affect us all as hunters, due to the actions of a stupid few who could not see further than the tips of their nose, in stoking their own egos and lining their own pockets.

I am getting reports of a number of SCI higher ups who have hunted with Out of Africa.

This cannot reflect well on SCI.

And for the life of me, how can hunters who are successful people in life, not see through Dawie Groenewald, who by the look of things has been a criminal for quite sometime.

What I fear is that SCI will make a sort of white wash of this. Rather than turn the page, and get rid of all the ones who have brought this into the picture.

Saeed,

Yes, I guess you and I have probably been the most vocal when it comes to criticising their lack of ethics and I also agree with you that SCI need to deal with this issue properly rather than try to whitewash it over.

I sincerely hope they do deal with it properly and then move on because despite my disapproval of things such as the ethics and donations issues, I'm 110% sure they could do a hell of a lot for the international hunting community...... and if they did those things, I might even be convinced to rejoin...... if they'd have me!

But I'd still be very interested to hear what the ordinary members and/or the usual defenders of the organisation think about the entire issue.

Gentlemen

I have been hearing a " story ", about some US Gov, Org doing collection of all cats, i.e hairsamples, out of Southern Africa, with the reason that they can verify if these animals were drugged within 48 hours of their death,

Why would they be doing that ???

Does anyone know the jail term these people are looking at if convicted?

quote:

Originally posted by Tembo:
Does anyone know the jail term these people are looking at if convicted?

Unfortunately for poaching probably not nearly enough but.....

if it can be proved that they either have in their possesion or supplied to other parties any firearms which were used to commit a crime then 15 years is very possible. Our firearms law seems draconian, but perhaps in this instance it will be a positive

I believe the law usually also allows for confiscation of all property used during the poaching so that could include the helicopter and vehicles as well.

Stephen,

Sorry this is a problem for you.

As the information came in in bit and pieces, I posted it without any thought that it would be difficult to keep up with.

On the other hand, if you sling enough shit against the wall, some of it is bound to stick.

~Alan