Two arrested over $5.20-million rhino horn heist

Two men have been arrested in connection with the theft of rhino horns worth about $5.2 million (about R55 million) from a South African game park office, the Hawks criminal investigation unit said on Monday.

Thieves broke into the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency south-east of Johannesburg in April and cut into a strong box, making off with 112 pieces of rhino horn, weighing 80 kilograms, in the first known theft of its kind.

“We have arrested two people and they will be appearing in court today,” Captain Paul Ramaloko from the Hawks said, adding that the horns had not yet been recovered.

Most of the horns stolen from the park were from de-horning operations, which is an attempt by local authorities to decrease poaching and to protect the rhino species. - Reuters