A 46-year-old man has been arrested after pieces of rhino horn stashed inside two chocolate boxes and destined for China were found at OR Tambo International Airport.

The man, who was sending the package to China and not going there himself, was traced to his home in Cyrildene where he was arrested.

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Hawks Gauteng spokesperson, Colonel Philani Nkwalase, said the man’s arrest followed information received from the cargo section at the airport on Thursday about a parcel destined for Shandong province in China.

“The parcel was allegedly declared as Ferrero and Cadbury chocolates. Members of the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation team as well as officials from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment were summoned to the crime scene when the security officer operating scanners at the airport alerted the relevant authorities upon detecting a suspicious parcel.”

He said:

The suspect was expected to appear at the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for the contravention of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004.

Nkwalase also said the man’s status in the country would be investigated.