* Used Thai prostitutes to stage fake rhino hunts
* First S.African conviction of senior smuggling ring member
* Horn sells for prices higher than gold as ‘medicine’
By Jon Herskovitz
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 5 (Reuters) – A Thai man pleaded guilty on
Monday to smuggling rhino horn from South Africa, in a case in
which prostitutes posing as big game hunters were used to
conceal an international trafficking ring.
Chumlong Lemtongthai is likely to be jailed for more than 10
years under a plea deal that investigators said sealed one of
the most important prosecutions in their fight to protect
rhinos, whose horns are worth more than gold in parts of
Southeast Asia.
Taking advantage of the fact that it is legal for foreigners
to hunt rhinos in South Africa and ship horns overseas as
trophies, Chumlong hired Thai prostitutes to stage fake hunts.
The women were given about $800 dollars each to go to game
farms, take a few shots with small calibre rifles and then pose
next to rhinos killed by someone else, according to affidavits
presented to the court and seen by Reuters.
“The hunters were a front for our decision to export rhino
horn for trade and not for trophies,” Chumlong said in a
statement to a Johannesburg court.
Continued…
