Jakarta, cartitleloans Indonesia
—
Singapore
thwart smuggling attempts
rhino horn
weighing 35.7 kg from South Africa to Laos via Changi Airport early November 2025.
The National Parks Board (NParks) and air cargo manager SATS revealed that 20 rhino horns worth S$1.13 million or Rp. 14.52 billion (S$1=Rp. 12,853.74) were secured in the process.
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Channel News Asia
on Tuesday (18/11) reported that 150 kg of other animal parts, including bones, teeth and claws were also detected in four cargoes bound for Vientiane on November 8.
This seizure marks the largest seizure of rhino horn in Singapore, surpassing the previous seizure of 34.7 kg in October 2022.
It all started when SATS cargo reception staff Vengadeswaran Letchumanan noticed a strong odor coming from the package during inspection.
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SATS staff at Changi Airport then suspected that the contents of the cargo did not match the labels printed on the furniture equipment, there was no further information regarding the information written on the labels.
He notified the duty manager who then activated the SATS security service to carry out a detailed inspection of the shipment.
One of the cargo compartments was opened for inspection, and was found to contain what appeared to be animal parts.Other parts were X-rayed and found to contain similar contents.
Investigations revealed that the 20 horns came from South Africa and belonged to a species of white rhinoceros, while species identification of other parts of the animal was still ongoing.
Further investigation into the case is also underway.
Rhinos are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and international trade in rhino horn is prohibited.
“Singapore maintains a zero-tolerance attitude towards the illegal trade in endangered wildlife species, their parts and derivatives,” NParks and SATS said.
They added that Singapore is a signatory to CITES and is committed to international efforts to curb the illegal wildlife trade to ensure the animals’ long-term survival.
“The horns will then be destroyed in accordance with CITES guidelines to prevent them from re-entering the market, thereby disrupting the global supply chain of illegally traded rhino horn.”
The previous largest seizure involved the smuggling of 20 rhino horns through Changi Airport, also originating from South Africa and bound for Laos.The horns were found in the bag of a South African man, who was later arrested.
On 26 January 2024, Gumede Sthembiso Joel was jailed for 24 months after pleading guilty to two counts of transiting through Singapore with rhino horn without a valid permit.NParks noted that this was the heaviest sentence imposed in Singapore to date for a case involving the smuggling of wildlife body parts.
The maximum penalty for trading in CITES Appendix I species without a valid CITES permit is a fine of up to S$200,000 for each specimen of the listed species in transit and/or imprisonment of up to eight years.
The sanctions for such transit cases are the same as those for the import and export of CITES-listed species without a valid CITES permit.
(chri)
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