Durban - The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) arrested a 35-year-old man for dealing in a protected species without a permit.
Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo said that on Thursday Hawks members from Port Shepstone Serious Organised Crime Investigation arrested Sifiso Magagula for dealing in African pangolin without a permit.
Mhlongo said the suspect was also charged for being in the country illegally.
“Members received information about a person who was advertising Pangolin scales for sale on Facebook. An undercover operation was conducted and Magagula was arrested at Mobeni Heights in Durban,” he said.
He added that the suspect was found in possession of a full dried Pangolin carcass.
“It was further established that Magagula was a foreign national who was in the country illegally,” he said.
Mhlongo said the suspect appeared briefly in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court on Friday, where he was remanded. He will reappear in the same court on Monday, July 3.
In May, IOL reported a man was arrested in Limpopo for possession of a pangolin, valued at R150 000, while he was on his way to sell the endangered animal.
In the report, spokesperson for the Hawks in Limpopo, Captain Matimba Maluleke, said the 59-year-old “pangolin dealer” was arrested at Gravelotte, near Tzaneen. The operation involved several police units and the Hoedspruit Farmwatch.
The report said the team received a tip-off, and a suspicious vehicle was spotted in Gravelotte.
“Upon stopping and searching the suspicious vehicle, the team found a pangolin valued at R150 000 hidden in the boot, inside a bag.
“The suspect failed to produce a permit for being in possession of a pangolin, and was immediately placed under arrest,” he said.