Windhoek
The case in which four Chinese nationals stand accused of attempting to smuggle 14 rhino horns out of the country last year resumed in the Regional Court in Katutura this week.
In July the State rejected the guilty plea of one of the four Chinese nationals arrested for attempting to smuggle rhino horns valued at N$2.3 million out of the country. The contraband was found in the luggage of the accused at Hosea Kutako International Airport on March 23, as they were preparing to depart to Hong Kong via Johannesburg.
The accused are Li Xiaoliang, 30, Li Zhibing, 53, Pu Xuexin, 49, and Wang Hui, 40. They are charged with unlawful export (or attempting to export) controlled wildlife products; alternatively dealing in controlled wildlife products.
The second alternative charge is unlawful possession of wildlife products.
The second main charge against the four is that of unlawful export (or attempting to export) a controlled wildlife product, in this case a leopard skin valued at N$50 000. The alternative charge is unlawful possession of a wildlife product.
The third main charge is that of money laundering. The first alternative charge is possession of the proceeds of unlawful activities. The second alternative charge is bringing into (or taking out of) Namibia the proceeds of unlawful activities.
Zhibing pleaded guilty to the first and second main counts, but not guilty to the alternatives. Nor did he plead guilty to the third main charge of money laundering, or its alternative, but prosecutor Simba Nduna rejected his guilty plea in July.
Zhibing, in his guilty plea read out in court by his counsel Orben Sibeya, said Xiaoliang, Xuexin and Hui did not know about the contents of the luggage. “I have never seen a live rhino except on television,” their statement added.
The four were denied bail and have been in custody since their arrest. The court heard during their bail hearings last year that they travelled to Namibia on the same day and that their visa numbers followed each other. The court also heard that they did not pay for their own accommodation while in Namibia.
Prosecutor Anthony Wilson argued last year that Xiaoliang was aware of the contents of the suitcase, because when the police asked him for a key to open it he refused to give hand it over and instead tried to hide it.
Xiaoliang was the first to testify during the bail hearing and maintained that he was not aware of the contents of the suitcase found in his possession. Hui, who is believed to be the poaching kingpin, was also denied bail in June. He was arrested in May at the Windhoek Country Club Resort and Casino.
He reportedly travels regularly between China and Namibia. When investigating officers learned in May that he was back in the country they tracked him down to the Windhoek Country Club Resort and Casino, where he was found gambling.
The trial is scheduled to run until Friday.