Rustenburg - Six pieces of rhino horn were found inside two boxes of chocolate at OR Tambo International Airport, the Hawks said on Friday.
"Members of the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation team as well as officials from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment were summoned to the crime scene when the security officer operating scanners at the airport alerted the relevant authorities upon detecting a suspicious parcel.
"Upon examining the parcel, the team found six pieces of rhino horn inside two chocolates boxes of Lunch Bar," spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Philani Nkwalase said.
"A thorough investigation by the Hawks led to the arrest of the suspect and an undisclosed amount of money was found hidden under the driver seat of his vehicle."
He said a 46-year-old man was arrested and was expected to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for contravention of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004.
In a separate incident, two people were recently arrested for allegedly trying to sell a lion's head in Zeerust in North West.
Joseph Modime, 59, and Emily Mashaba, 54, from Tembisa north of Johannesburg, were allegedly trying to sell the lion's head for an amount of R350 000.
The sale was intercepted by a police agent who impersonated a traditional healer, leading to the arrest of the two at a petrol station in Zeerust. A lion’s head was allegedly found in their possession, wrapped in refuse bags.
The two were released on R1 500 bail each and their case was postponed to February 16.
IOL