By Joe-Chintha Garises
OKAHANDJA, July 18 – Two men were arrested in Okahandja on Saturday 16 July 2022 after being found in possession of protected plant species.
These included 4x Adenia pechuellii (elephant foot) plants; 15x Cyphostema plants; 8x Commphoras plants; 5x plastics containing Welwitchia seeds and 12x plastics with different unidentified seeds.
The suspects, one a Chines national and the other a Namibian, were caught after a video of them collecting protected plants reportedly in the area of Usakos went viral.
The arrest was confirmed in a press release issued by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda on 18 July 2022.
“A team was dispatched immediately to investigate the incident. Preliminary investigations in the area confirmed the incident; however, the suspects could not be found.
“While the ministry team was on their way back to Windhoek, they came across the two suspects in Okahandja, driving a black 7-seater vehicle,” he said.
He said the officials secretly followed the suspects to a flat in Okahandja and also alerted the Blue Rhino Task Team (BRTT) and the suspects were arrested, Muyunda said.
