Thai hookers paid to smuggle S.African rhino horns: reports

JOHANNESBURG, July 22, 2011 (AFP) - A Thai man hired prostitutes to smuggle poached rhino horns disguised as legal hunting trophies from South Africa to supply the Asian black market, media said Friday.

Chumlong Lemtongthai, 43, who was arrested last week outside Johannesburg, was part of a syndicate alleged to have sold at least 40 rhino horns, the weekly Mail & Guardian and the daily Beeld reported.

The revelation came from a South African manager for Thai Airways, John Oliviers, who worked with Chumlong but then turned whistle-blower and informed the police, the papers said.

Olivier told police that Marnus Steyl, a South African wildlife trader, bought rhinos from auctions and private owners and took them to his farms where the animals were killed soon after their arrival, the paper said.

"Once the rhinos were established on Steyl's farm, he would call Lemtongthai and tell him how many animals were in place for a 'hunt'," read Olivier's statement, according to the Mail & Guardian.

South Africa allows a limited number of legal rhino hunts, but each person is allowed only one kill per year.

Friends, strippers and prostitutes were paid 5,000 rands ($740, 514 euros) to pose as hunters and export the horns, the papers said.

Each horn was taken to a taxidermist, who mounted it on a shield to look like a hunting trophy.

"The trophy is just a cover for getting the horn out of South Africa and into Asia. Once in Asia, it obviously would enter the black market as rhino horn for 'medicinal purposes'. The person allegedly 'hunting' the rhino would never see the animal or its horn again," Olivier's statement reportedly said.

Chumlong paid 65,000 rands a kilo for the horns and sold them for $55,000 (380,000 rands) a kilo, the papers said.

With the average horn weighing five kilos, he made more than $8.9 million in profit on the 40 rhinos shot to date, they said.

South African national parks officials say rhino poaching has risen from 13 cases in 2007 to a record 333 last year and 222 so far this year.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-07-22

"A Thai man hired prostitutes to smuggle poached rhino horns"

the initial mental image was worth it

When I read the headline it brought a smile to my face,wundering where they they were hiding them,may be it was my (dirty)mind.

When I read the headline it brought a smile to my face,wundering where they they were hiding them,may be it was my (dirty)mind.

5555 same same here

the best solution is capture every rino, and cut off his horn

When I read the headline it brought a smile to my face,wundering where they they were hiding them,may be it was my (dirty)mind.

Hey, hey, now, gynecology is an honorable profession.

Again Thailand makes headlines im so impressed

Gives new meaning to the word "horny", and there must be a joke in there somewhere - "How do you tell a Thai hooker is on safari? Because........".

Or "A horn in the hand is worth two in the bush"?

Edited July 22, 201114 yr by asdecas

Haha! Glad to hear I am not alone here with a dirty mind!

Can you imagine the guy in the airport TSA X-ray screen both getting a load of this?

Hmmmm.....

I thought the same... So my mind is just as dirty lol

the best solution is capture every rino, and cut off his horn

No. The only solution is to capture every poacher, and cut of his horn.

When I read the headline it brought a smile to my face,wundering where they they were hiding them,may be it was my (dirty)mind.

Using the same criteria as your dirty mind..... I know some Thai females who could hide the whole rhino!!!!!!

Scientific Studies Find No Medicinal Value in Rhino Horn

http://www.ecomii.com/blogs/jeff-corwin-citizen-blog/2011/07/06/scientific-studies-find-no-medicinal-value-in-rhino-horn/

Why is it worth so much money??

the best solution is capture every rino, and cut off his horn

Or every Chinese and cut off his d*&^!

Pathetic really.

They actually put rhinos to sleep for cutting the horns off.

Very successful program in national parks.

I wonder if they travelled via the horn of Africa.

Gives new meaning to the word "horny", and there must be a joke in there somewhere - "How do you tell a Thai hooker is on safari? Because........".

Or "A horn in the hand is worth two in the bush"?

Or "A horn in the bush is worth two in the hand"

Scientific Studies Find No Medicinal Value in Rhino Horn

http://www.ecomii.co...-in-rhino-horn/

Why is it worth so much money??

Superstition - institutionalised ignorance - no different from African men raping virgins to protect themselves from AIDS - poaching tigers for whatever.

But Arabs also drive the Rhino horn business because they want to wear daggers with handles made of the stuff. Then it has nothing to do with superstition, but pure bloody minded decadence.

Scientific Studies Find No Medicinal Value in Rhino Horn

http://www.ecomii.com/blogs/jeff-corwin-citizen-blog/2011/07/06/scientific-studies-find-no-medicinal-value-in-rhino-horn/

Why is it worth so much money??

Because of the :jap: :jap: :jap: :jap: :jap: :jap:

OK, is there anyone who read the article title, and DIDN'T imagine a flock of Thai brass returning from 'safari' in SA, each with a rhino horn jammed fat-end-first up their accommodating frontbums???? Cmon now, anyone?

When I read the headline it brought a smile to my face,wundering where they they were hiding them,may be it was my (dirty)mind.

5555 same same here

what route did they take -round cape horn or the horn of Africa??

Thai hookers posing as hunters? Well, they don't need to pose, I guess. They've had many years of experience hunting.

Joke aside, I find this trade disgusting, the sharp increase in rhino poaching worrisome.

Bring a whole new meany to the (caricature of an) Asian hookers saying, "Oh, me so horny!"

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

Gives new meaning to the word "horny", and there must be a joke in there somewhere - "How do you tell a Thai hooker is on safari? Because........".

Or "A horn in the hand is worth two in the bush"?

Or "A horn in the bush is worth two in the hand"

I wonder of Katoeys could smuggle more in bulk?

OK, is there anyone who read the article title, and DIDN'T imagine a flock of Thai brass returning from 'safari' in SA, each with a rhino horn jammed fat-end-first up their accommodating frontbums???? Cmon now, anyone?

Uhmmm....yes. There definitely is at least one person who DIDN'T imagine that.

Scientific Studies Find No Medicinal Value in Rhino Horn

http://www.ecomii.co...-in-rhino-horn/

Why is it worth so much money??

The same idots who buy the Rhino Horn also buy the sharkfins....... tw*ts

When I read the headline it brought a smile to my face,wundering where they they were hiding them,may be it was my (dirty)mind.

5555 same same here

what route did they take -round cape horn or the horn of Africa??

Tourism down these hookers are 'Hard-up" a bit of practice though. Most Thais don;t appear to be animal lovers do they??

Gives new meaning to the word "horny", and there must be a joke in there somewhere - "How do you tell a Thai hooker is on safari? Because........".

Or "A horn in the hand is worth two in the bush"?

Or "A horn in the bush is worth two in the hand"

I wonder of Katoeys could smuggle more in bulk?

This is just another case of the Thai girls messing with the bull & getting the "Horn"

When I read the headline it brought a smile to my face,wundering where they they were hiding them,may be it was my (dirty)mind.

5555 same same here

what route did they take -round cape horn or the horn of Africa??

Tourism down these hookers are 'Hard-up" a bit of practice though. Most Thais don;t appear to be animal lovers do they??

Do black rhino's have bigger horns than white ??????:lol:

The term 'Thai Hooker" is a bit much.