Three poachers have been sentenced to a combined 75 years in prison by the High Court Kathu, in the Northern Cape.
The men, aged between 26 and 27, were convicted for several criminal activities, including the murder of one of their co-accused.
The trio was also convicted of entering a restricted area where a threatened species resides, entering land with wild animals while in the possession of a firearm, possession of unlawful ammunition and unlicensed firearms, and residing illegally in South Africa.
With two of the convictions running concurrently, the court ruled that each convicted man would serve a total of 25 years direct imprisonment.
In April 2020, police in South Africa and Botswana were informed of four unknown footprints which had entered Barrange farm.
Several parties including helicopter services and the anti-poaching unit were also contacted to assist in tracking the accused, as the owner of the farm had experienced poachers in the past.
A helicopter crew spotted the accused and alerted officers on the ground about the intruders’ whereabouts.
When ground officers approached the intruders, a shootout ensued and one of the accused was killed. The other three intruders were injured and taken to hospital.
The three survivors made a series of court appearances until their sentencing.
IOL