South African police said they arrested on Tuesday the former owner of the world’s largest rhino conservation farm on charges of smuggling the horns of the endangered animals.
John Hume was arrested with five other people following a “complex investigation into transnational trafficking of rhino horns” that began in 2017, the police’s specialised Hawks unit said.
Hume, in his mid-80s, owned the largest rhino farm in the world until 2023 when it was bought by the African Parks NGO.
The “Platinum Rhino” site in the North West province is home to around 2,000 animals, 15 per cent of the world’s remaining wild population of southern white rhino.
Investigators said they had discovered allegations of fraud involving government officials who issued permits for about 964 rhino horns to be sold locally but which were instead shipped to illegal markets in Southeast Asia.
