THREE men who were on their way to hunt protected game, believed to be rhinoceroses, were arrested before they could commit the crime.
The arrest of the 51-year-old Simon Penda Namene, a machine operator and employee of the B2Gold Mine, the 41-year-old Mateus Tulyaameni Shimbilinga, a taxi driver, and the 32-year-old Gottlieb Timo Wilhelm a welding contractor at the B2Gold Mine came after crime intelligence detectives followed up on leads obtained from various communities.
The three suspects, who all reside in Otjiwarongo, were arrested on a gravel road in the vicinity of the Ohorongo Cement Factory in the Otavi district.
According to the arrest report provided by the Public Relations Division of the Namibian Police, crime intelligence indicated that it was the intention of the suspects to kill rhinos on a farm in the district of Otavi.
“The suspects were intercepted on Tuesday before they could kill yet another rhino. The firearms and other equipment found in their possession during the arrest indicated that the intelligence received about their intention by detectives was correct.
The three men had a 30-06 hunting rifle fitted with a telescope and a silencer, ammunition for the rifle, heavy-duty aluminium foil used poachers to wrap rhino horns in, a panga used by hackers to hack rhino horns from the dead carcasses of the animals, and a pair of binoculars. The detectives also confiscated a Toyota Run-X with registration number N 11732 W during the arrest.
According to the report, the serial number of the hunting rifle was filed off.
On Wednesday, the suspects were charged with conspiracy to hunt specially protected game, specifically rhinoceros, having an unlicensed firearm in their possession, and two counts of having certain types of illegal ammunition in their possession.
On Thursday, Namene, Shimbilinga and Wilhelm made their first appearance on the charges in the Otavi Magistrate’s Court.
They were remanded in custody to enable detectives to establish if the suspects could be connected with other incidents of poaching registered in the area.
