Rundu
The police at Rundu arrested two men on Thursday for alleged possession of two rhino horns.
The two were arrested at Cuca Tops Club Bar in the central business district of Rundu, where they allegedly tried to abandon their car and flee from the advancing police officers.
According to the acting regional crime investigations coordinator for Kavango East, Detective Chief Inspector Chrispin Mubebo, the two men – one of them a former police officer working for the internal investigations directorate of the Namibian police and the other a Rundu resident – acted suspiciously in the presence of undercover police officers.
The implicated former police officer currently works for the Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR), New Era understands.
“There was some information that there were people who were selling pangolins in that area, so while our members were looking into that they saw another suspicious vehicle. When the police got closer, they (the occupants of the vehicle) left the car and tried to escape, but they were caught. It was discovered that they had two rhino horns in their vehicle,” Mubebo told New Era on Friday.
“As you know we regard poaching as a very serious offence, so should you be caught you will face the full wrath of the law,” Mubebo warned.
Recently the police in Kavango East launched three campaigns aimed at enhancing the relationship between the police and the community in combating crime in the region and the community has been responsive as they often tip off the police when they detect criminal activity.
“The launched campaigns include the House to House [campaign]; the Women and Men Network and Turn Back Crime. The Women and Men Network offers voluntary assistance to the police, like neighbourhood watch, while the House to House [campaign] is a platform of community policing. Turn Back Crime is a global platform for crime prevention, said to be active in all countries that are part of Interpol. We thank those community members who are giving us a helping hand in fighting crime. Together we can make our society a better place to live in,” Mubebo said.
The two suspects will be brought before Rundu Magistrate Court on Monday and charged with contravening the Controlled Wildlife Products and Trade Act of 2008.