The South African Police Service (SAPS) has arrested a Vietnamese wildlife trafficker and his associates for attempting to illegally sell lions.
The investigation, which was based on a tip-off by The Hague-based Wildlife Judicial Commission (WJC), led to the arrests of suspects Nguyen Phu Thao, 53, and Nico Scholz, 32. The WJC, which works to disrupt criminal networks and disrupt transnational wildlife crime rings, described the arrests as “a major blow against wildlife trafficking.”
During a joint police/WJC operation, Nguyen offered to sell six lions to undercover officers and introduced them to his associate, Skoltz, who then took the lions to a farm in the Free State where they were kept.
Following the transaction, the South African Police Service, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, arrested two suspects in the North West on 5 July and seized a vehicle, a firearm and 50 rounds of ammunition.
Nguyen and Scholz were charged with violating the National Environmental Management and Biodiversity Act, criminal conspiracy and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. They have been remanded in custody pending their first court appearance.
“We would like to congratulate the South African Police Service on this important arrest and thank them for their cooperation with the Wildlife Justice Commission,” the commission's executive director Olivia Swak Goldman said in a statement.
“This is an important achievement as South Africa moves towards closing down commercial lion farms and taking action against criminal activity associated with these facilities.”
Lions are listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. South Africa is home to the world's largest captive lion population, estimated at around 8,000 animals.
The roadmap for closing down tiger captivity sites of concern was drawn up last year by a group of non-governmental organisations, including the WJC, with expertise in wildlife conservation, animal welfare, illegal wildlife trade and captive wildlife protection and management.
The roadmap's recommendations are “also applicable to captive lion facilities” and could guide the phasing out of such facilities in South Africa, the WJC said.
