Johannesburg – A 43-year-old man was arrested earlier Friday at OR Tambo International Airport before he could smuggle a suitcase packed with lion bones onto an airline.
Relating events leading to the arrest, Captain Bonnie Nxumalo said alert Bidvest security guards at the airport searched the suspect’s luggage before he could board his flight to Vietnam via Qatar.
They found animal bones wrapped with yellow cellophane and packed inside the suspect’s hand luggage.
The Hawks, Bidvest Security, Crime Intelligence, and officials from the Department of Environmental Affairs assisted in identifying the contraband.
Captain Nxumalo said the bones were later identified as those of at least five lions.
“Police further seized foreign currency, a cellphone, and two passports,” said Captain Nxumalo.
The suspect faces charges related to illegal dealing in wildlife, unlawful possession of lion bones, and contravening the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act.
Captain Nxumalo said investigations were continuing and more arrests were expected.
The arrested suspect will appear in the n the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Monday, (26 June 2023).
