Three men from Kuruman in the Northern Cape will appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on charges of illegally possessing and trading an endangered pangolin.
The suspects are aged 31, 35, and 36.
On 10 February 2026 at approximately 07:00, Bloemfontein Public Order Police (POP) Platoon 12, under Sergeant Magano, acted on intelligence received from a Security Intelligence member and DESTEA Deputy Director Leepile MacDonald Garekwe. The information indicated the suspects were travelling from the Northern Cape along the N8 to a shop in Bloemfontein to sell a pangolin to a foreign national buyer. The buyer was reportedly in possession of R750,000 in cash.
The suspects arrived at the location in a white Toyota Quantum minibus. Police approached and arrested them. A pangolin was recovered unharmed. The vehicle was seized as it was allegedly used in the commission of a crime.
Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal worldwide. Their meat is consumed as a delicacy and their scales are falsely claimed to treat ailments including lactation problems, arthritis, and cancer.
The suspects are charged under Section 57(1) of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) 10 of 2004 for conducting a restricted activity without a permit and for possessing a pangolin without a permit.