With thanks to Save The Rhino for information supplied.

In a triumph against rhino poaching, two men have been arrested in possession of 167 rhino horns, in what could be the biggest rhino horn-trafficking case ever recorded in South Africa.

The arrest was made on April 13. A number of theories have circulated on social media, and the police are in the process of collating the facts.

The facts at hand are as follows:

• The two men were arrested in the Hartbeespoort Dam area in North West Province, South Africa, as a result of an intelligence-led police operation
• A tip-off alerted the police to a registered vehicle carrying large amounts of rhino horn that was to be sold on the black market, destined for South East Asia
• The two men are residents of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province, who had a permit to transport the horns from one location in Gauteng to another location in Gauteng. The permit did not allow transport of the horns to or through any other province.
• The men have consequently been charged with violating the terms of the permit to transport the horns; however no other charges have been laid as yet.
• As there was a permit to transport the horns, they had to have come from one or more registered stockpiles – rather than being products of a series of poaching incidents
• The bail hearing of the accused is set to take place on Friday April 26, at Brits Magistrates Court in NW Province

The next step will be to release further information by the South African Police Force, presumably in connection with the April 26 bail hearing. It is expected that this will reveal the source(s) of the horns and the intended destination.