According to the South Africa Revenue Service, their team arrested a woman who hails from South Africa. They arrested her at O.R Tambo International Airport while she was trying to leave the country for Dubai with 12 rhino horns concealed in her luggage.
The woman was arrested following a tip-off to customs officials.
The woman carried two luggage bags and a box, and a box which was inspected, and 12 pieces of rhino horn were found. She has since been arrested.
According to Sars, they have made great strides in preventing the smuggling of rhino horns recently.
Time from July 2020 and December 2021, about 125 rhino horns were seized at OR Tambo International Airport.
According to Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter says Sars and the law enforcement agencies will spare no effort to prosecute criminal syndicates and individuals who break the law.
Rhino horns:
Rhinoceroses are distinguished by the control of one or two horns on the upper surface of the snout; these horns are not true horns but are comprised of keratin, a fibrous protein found in hair.
The word rhinoceros is a combination of two Greek words – rhino (nose) and ceros (horn).
Furthermore, SARS stated that they were reacting on a tip-off when they stopped and searched her. Then, the woman were taken aside at the customs area, where officials asked to search her luggage.
“The two luggage bags and a box were examined by a baggage scanner that identified irregular images suspected to be rhino horn.
“This led to a physical inspection of the luggage and box in which 12 pieces of rhino horn, weighing 30.7kg, were found. The passenger and the rhino horns were handed to the police, after which a criminal case was opened for investigation,” Sars said.
The revenue service said it had made significant strides in stopping the smuggling of rhino horns in recent years.
