Pretoria - The presence of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in the Kruger National Park is yielding results, with four alleged poachers arrested by its members.
The Mozambican nationals were found in possession of a hunting rifle, binoculars, an axe and cell phones. They are expected to appear at the Skukuza Magistrate's Court today.
"We congratulate the SANDF members for arresting poachers. It has been 15 days since they were deployed into the park and we can see the results already. We will continue to work with the law enforcement agencies to secure our borders and to deal with rhino poaching", said Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
The SANDF had been asked by SANParks to play a strategic role in the protection of South African national parks, including the Kruger National Park.
"Our national parks are our assets. We will protect them for the future and those who pose any threats to our animals will meet the full might of the law. We have declared war with poachers in all our parks," said the minister.
The SANDF is currently deployed along the Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Lesotho borders. By the end of the 2012/13 financial year, the SANDF will cover over 4 471 kilometres of land between South Africa and Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, and Lesotho. - BuaNews
