South African prosecutors allege John Hume and five others ran a transnational scheme to export 964 rhino horns to illegal markets in Southeast Asia, valued at $14.1 million. The operation involved fraud with government officials who issued permits for domestic sales while shipments were diverted overseas. Hume, 83, previously owned the 7,800-hectare Platinum Rhino ranch, home to about 2,000 animals and roughly 15% of the remaining southern white rhino population; the ranch was sold to African Parks in 2023. The Hawks unit arrested five people after an investigation that began in 2017. Domestic horn trade is legal in South Africa, while international sales are banned under CITES. Rhino numbers have fallen dramatically due to hunting and poaching, and horns remain highly sought in parts of Asia as status symbols.
South African prosecutors have accused a high-profile animal breeder of running an illegal rhino horn smuggling network across the globe. John Hume, 83, once owned one of the world's largest rhino herds at his ranch near Johannesburg. He and five others are accused of running a scheme to export more than 900 rhino horns valued at $14.1 million (12.2 million). All five arrested on Tuesday following a "complex investigation into transnational trafficking of rhino horns" that began in 2017, the police's specialized Hawks unit said.
John Hume owned the 7,800-hectare (19,270-acre) Platinum Rhino ranch in South Africa's North West province until 2023, when it was bought by wildlife NGO African Parks in a bid to rewild the animals. The ranch is home to around 2,000 animals around 15% of the world's remaining wild population of southern white rhinos. Investigators said they uncovered fraud involving government officials who issued permits for 964 rhino horns to be sold domestically, but which were actually shipped to illegal markets in Southeast Asia.
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