Two rhino horn traffickers have been sentenced by a South African court in what police describe as the 'world's largest' case, bringing a partial end to a nearly two-decade-long legal battle.
Dawie Groenewald and Tielman Erasmus faced more than 1,700 charges, including illegal rhino hunting and dehorning, as well as charges related to organized crime and money laundering.
Groenewald, whom South African police called the 'mastermind' of the syndicate, was fined 2 million rand (approximately £92,000) or four years in prison after reaching a plea deal with the state. His accomplice was fined 100,000 rand or three years in prison, according to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks unit.
South Africa is home to about one-third of the world's critically endangered black rhinos, according to the International Rhino Foundation (IRF). The country also holds more than 75% of the southern white rhino population, whose total dropped by 10% to under 16,000 in 2024. The nation is experiencing a rhino poaching epidemic, accounting for 81% of all poaching incidents in Africa in 2024, according to the IRF.
Rhino horns are used in traditional Chinese medicine but have no proven health benefits for humans. Although current estimates are difficult to obtain, a 2022 study suggested that rhino horn can fetch tens of thousands of dollars per tonne on the black market.
Groenewald and his brother Janneman were earlier accused by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2014 of selling illegal rhino hunts to Americans under a fraudulent guise.
South African police began investigating the case in 2007. In 2010, 11 people were arrested, including 'professional hunters, veterinarians, helicopter pilots and general workers involved in an organized crime syndicate.' However, over 15 years of delays followed due to legal challenges, including in the constitutional court. Two of the original 11 defendants died while the case was ongoing, along with 10 of the state's 185 witnesses, while others emigrated abroad.
The case against three others—Karel Toet, Marisa Toet, and Koos Pronk—has been postponed to August 20, police said.
Last year, South African rhino farmer John Hume was charged along with five others for involvement in a rhino horn trafficking gang. Hume had kept white rhinos on his farm and lobbied for the legalization and regulation of horn trade in South Africa. He had about 2,000 rhinos on the farm when he sold it in 2023, claiming he could no longer afford to run it.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this article.
