This is the largest seizure of rhino horn in Singapore, with 20 pieces of rhino horn smuggled in 2022 from Johannesburg, South Africa, which were flown through Singapore on their way to Laos.
Now, a Singapore court has sentenced the man who carried the horn to two years in prison.
This is the maximum sentence allowed for the crime under the law in effect at the time of the seizure and arrest. The sentence is also the country’s most severe for smuggling wild animal parts to date.
Gumede Thembiso Joel, a South African national, was charged with two offenses under Singapore’s former Endangered Species (Export and Import) Act 2006 (ESA) after he was caught holding his horns at Changi Airport. He was charged with one count each of transporting 18 white rhino horns and transporting 18 white rhino horns. He brought two horns of an endangered black rhino into Singapore without a valid permit.
A joint investigation by Singapore and South African authorities revealed that Joel had agreed to transport horns from South Africa to Laos in exchange for airline tickets and money for an acquaintance involved in the illegal rhino horn trade. has become clear.
Under the ESA 2006, if convicted, violators are subject to a fine of S$50,000 (US$37,273) per species or up to two years’ imprisonment, or both.
Gumede Sthembiso Joel received up to 24 months for the white rhino horn and 14 months for the black rhino horn. The judge ordered the conditions to run concurrently.
Singapore has since amended its laws to double the fines and triple the maximum prison sentence for illegal trade in the horns of species such as white and black rhinos. These species are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. flora. However, these changes only took effect on November 1, 2022, after Joel’s arrest.
This is not the first conviction for rhino horn smuggling in Singapore.
In April 2020, another South African man was sentenced to 17 months in prison for attempting to smuggle 11 pieces of rhino horn into Vietnam via Singapore. At the time, it was the heaviest sentence handed down in Singapore for smuggling wild animal parts.
In two previous cases involving rhino horn in the country in 2014 and 2018, courts also handed down 15-month prison sentences.
This incident demonstrated the important role played by those manning X-ray scanners at airports. It was a vigilant security guard who initiated the series of actions that led to Joel’s arrest. In the X-ray scan, Joel noticed a box wrapped in adhesive film containing a horn-shaped organic material.
This is why TRAFFIC has long focused on creating resources to equip airport staff with the knowledge and skills to detect wildlife crime. ”
Kanitha Krishnasamy, Director of Southeast Asia Traffic.
“The more trained eyes and ears we have in the field, the harder it will be for traffickers to get away with smuggling.”
The incident is also significant for DNA analysis that identified the species involved and established a link between the loss of at least 11 female rhinos and the ripple effect this loss has on wild rhino populations.
Singapore is not alone in the region when it comes to trafficking in rhino horn from African countries and prosecuting those responsible for smuggling.
From January 2021 to December 2023, at least 19 rhino horn trafficking cases have been recorded in five countries in Southeast Asia. Approximately 420 kg of rhino horn was seized, including at least 84 whole horns. Vietnam has seized more than half of the booklets in 11 cases.
In December 2021, a court in Hanoi, Vietnam sentenced a man to a record-breaking 14 years in prison for trafficking 55 rhino horns from the United Arab Emirates to Vietnam.
Meanwhile, in Malaysia, a lawsuit is underway against two men for allegedly illegally possessing 50 items. of Rhino horn seized by authorities from a vehicle near Kuala Lumpur International Airport in September 2018.