http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/wild-animal-carcass-horror-1.1022810 Wild animal carcass horror February 8 2011 at 07:42am By Graeme Hosken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Horrific scenes of mutilated and frozen wild animal carcasses greeted police when they raided a wholesaler dealership and a farm while searching for members of a multi-million-rand theft syndicate outside Pretoria. The Hawks, wildlife officials and the Green Scorpions made the grisly discovery while searching for the gang members in Ga-Rankuwa. The gang is allegedly behind the theft of millions of rands’ worth of fresh produce from Shoprite Checkers. The discovery - first made on Friday with further finds on Monday - came when police raided a farm near Dr George Mukhari Hospital. Police, who arrested the owner of the wholesaler on Friday along with 15 of his alleged accomplices, were searching the dealership’s cold storage facilities for Shoprite Checkers products. But they then discovered the frozen and skinned carcasses of a domestic cat, a zebra and other wild animals, such as crocodiles, lying across the floor and on shelves next to the mutilated remains of farm animals. While searching the premises and a neighbouring farm - also owned by the wholesaler - officers discovered 200 baby crocodiles, some measuring more than 1m in length, crammed on top of each other in several small dams. During the searches on Monday police also found numerous carcasses of endangered wild animals, skins, bones and other body parts. Police were, however, left red-faced when officers who returned on Monday with journalists to show them the discoveries, found that of the 200 crocodiles they had seen on Friday, only 20 remained. Fears emerged that the crocodiles could have been shot and buried. Three large fresh graves were found near their holding facilities, along with numerous shotgun casings. Farm workers told investigators that two bakkies had been used to remove the live crocodiles, whose fate, police said, was as yet unknown. Macabre and foul-smelling scenes greeted journalists as they were shown the cold storage facilities at the wholesalers. The carcasses of baby crocodiles, which are believed to have frozen to death after being placed in plastic crates, were found next to cut-up remains of wild and farm animals, with blood smeared across the floors. In a storage room at the back of the wholesaler dealership, dozens of dried crocodile skins, heads and other animal parts were found stuffed inside boxes and crates. Police at the scene said they believed that the owners could be part of a larger wild meat trading syndicate. Makoko Lekola, Gauteng Agricultural and Rural Development Department spokesman, said that so far, five frozen crocodiles, along with spotted genets and numerous skins of adult crocodiles and other protected wildlife, had been found. He said the department was assisting the police in their investigation, especially when it came to establishing where the animals came from. Hawks spokesman McIntosh Polela said the findings were alarming. “The scenes that greeted us on Friday were far worse than today. “They were beyond description. It was appalling, horrific,” he said, describing how they had found a skinned cat strung up in the cold storage room. Polela said the police had not been prepared for the discoveries. “We were expecting to arrest thieves belonging to a syndicate targeting the Shoprite Checkers food chain store; definitely not this,” he said. He said, based on information from their investigations, they were looking into allegations that the meat of the wild animals, such as the crocodiles and possibly a number of endangered wild animals and domestic ones, were being sold to unsuspecting local residents in the area as lamb, beef or chicken. “We strongly believe that these people are involved in the illegal meat trade industry. “We are investigating whether they could be linked to illegal poaching syndicates, with possible ties to international crime organisations,” he said. Polela said that one of their biggest concerns was why there were so many wild animals like crocodiles on the premises. Also, what the purpose was for storing the animals on the farm, and what had happened to the more than 180 crocodiles which had disappeared. “We are concerned about their well-being. “Added to these fears are the shotgun cartridges which were found near where the crocodiles had been contained,” he said. - Pretoria News