NParks helped in seizure of rhino horns, lion & tiger bones in South Africa

On Nov. 11, the National Parks Board (NParks) was alerted to a suspicious shipment in Changi Airport that bore similarities to a previous shipment of illegal wildlife trade that was seized just three days before.

That previous shipment on Nov. 8 contained 35.7kg of rhinoceros horns and around 150kg of other animal parts, marking the largest seizure of rhinoceros horns in Singapore to date.

The Nov. 11 shipment came from South Africa and was transiting through Singapore, NParks said in a media release on Dec. 30.

It was not opened in Singapore. After examining it, NParks worked with the South African police to arrange its controlled return to its source country for further investigation.

Investigation in South Africa

NParks explained that the shipment was returned without opening to allow the source country to conduct investigations and potentially identify and dismantle a broader criminal network.

This approach of targeting the criminal networks at their source can yield more significant long-term results than isolated seizures in another country, NParks said.

After the shipment arrived back in South Africa, the local authorities launched an operation on Dec. 1, and traced it to a storage facility in Johannesburg.

At the storage facility, they found four boxes containing 17 rhinoceros horns weighing 55.4kg, and 26.2kg of lion and tiger bones, including skulls and claws.

The recovered animal parts are believed to be part of a broader transnational trafficking network responsible for smuggling wildlife products from South Africa to other foreign markets, NParks said.

Two Nigerian nationals were identified as the receivers of the shipment. They have been arrested, and will be charged in South Africa.

Updates on the Nov. 8 seizure

NParks also shared the latest updates to the investigation into the Nov. 8 seizure of wildlife parts.

This shipment originated in South Africa and was transiting through Singapore en route to Vientiane, Laos.

Around 150kg of other animal parts seized in this case have been analysed and determined to be from lions and tigers.

Multi-agency investigations are ongoing, and NParks will work closely with both domestic and international partners to investigate if the Nov. 8 seizure is linked to the Dec. 1 seizure in South Africa.

Recent raids to combat illegal wildlife trade

Under a global operation targeting the illegal trafficking of floral and fauna, a record 30,000 live animals were seized across 134 countries, including Singapore,

Singapore was among 134 countries where a record 30,000 live animals were recently seized as part of a global operation targeting the illegal trafficking of floral and fauna, INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) announced earlier in December.

Under this operation, NParks raided a total of six premises across Singapore on Oct. 9, resulting in the seizure of 16 wildlife specimens.

The raids targeted individuals suspected of engaging in illegal wildlife trade through online platforms, including Telegram.

The confiscated animals included endangered species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), such as yellow-headed day geckos, a leopard tortoise, a spiny-tailed monitor and an argentine black and white tegu.

The animals are currently being housed and cared for at NParks’ Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation.

Top images from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation of the South African Police Service