Alleged rhino poachers now battling extradition to US

Brothers Dawie (49) and Janneman (47) Groenewald were released from police custody on Friday after posting bail of R50 000 and R10 000 respectively in the Polokwane Magistrate's Court, says a News24 report. This came after an Interpol task team executed an international warrant for the brothers' arrest, and took them to court to facilitate an extradition order. ‘We tried unsuccessfully to oppose bail. The case was postponed to 14 August for further inquiry into whether or not they will be extradited,’ SAPS spokesperson Vish Naidoo reportedly told News24. Dawie Groenewald's attorney, Hennie Erwee, said he would be filing an urgent application in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) today to set aside the warrants of arrest. ‘In terms of the extradition agreement between SA and the US, and the applicable laws, it makes sense to finalise pending cases here before proceeding with any applications for extradition. I think it is totally premature, and that will form the basis of our application to set aside these warrants,’ he said. Dawie Groenewald, his wife Sariette, and nine others, including two vets and professional hunters, have faced a total of 1 872 charges since their arrest on World Rhino Day, in September 2010. To date, the group, known as the Musina Mafia, have managed to stave off prosecution through a number of postponements and delays. The case was postponed to January 2018 after their last appearance a week ago in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria). The US extradition request was made to South African authorities three years ago, but was not executed by Interpol until last week. ‘They allegedly conspired to sell illegal rhinoceros hunts in SA in order to defraud American hunters, money laundering, and secretly trafficking in rhino horns,’ the indictment reads.