KURUMAN - A 42-year-old Botswana national is expected to appear in the Kuruman Magistrates' Court in the Northern Cape on Monday in connection with illegal activities involving protected species, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said on Sunday.
The suspect was arrested on Friday following a "disruptive operation after information surfaced that the suspect intends to sell a live cheetah and lion bones to a potential buyer in South Africa", Hawks spokesperson Nomthandazo Mnisi said in a statement
A transaction was arranged with the suspect and he was found in possession of a live cheetah and lion bones when confronted by the Hawks' serious organised crime unit, the Kuruman South African Police Service (SAPS) stock theft unit, and the Kuruman Highway Patrol.
The cheetah received medical attention and would be kept at a sanctuary for rehabilitation.
The estimated value of the cheetah and the lion bones were R400,000, Mnisi said.
