Singapore jails South African for 2 years for smuggling rhino horns valued at US$900,000

Gumede Sthembiso Joel was arrested at Singapore’s Changi airport in 2022 after authorities found 20 rhino horns weighing 34.7 kilogram in his bags.

They were worth about S$1.2 million (US$895,000) – the city state’s largest seizure of rhino horn.

The 33-year-old was handed the sentence after pleading guilty to two charges of transiting with rhino horns without a valid permit.

“This is the heaviest sentence meted out in Singapore to date for a case involving the smuggling of wildlife parts,” Singapore’s National Parks Board (NParks) said in a statement on Friday.

After undergoing forensic analysis, 18 horns were determined to be from 15 different white rhinos, while another two horns were from a single black rhino, NParks said.

Rhinos are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and international trade in their horns is prohibited.

The government said 448 of the rare animals were killed across the country in 2022, only three fewer than in 2021 despite increased protection at national parks.

Rhino horns are considered status symbols and believed to have medicinal properties in parts of Asia. They are also carved into jewellery and household items including combs, buttons and belt buckles.