Four men were arrested for trying to sell a pangolin, in Welkom, on Thursday.
Police said they acted on intelligence about a group of people selling pangolins in the town.
The Organised Crime Investigation of the Hawks and Welkom Anti-Gang Unit, caught the men red-handed trying to sell one pangolin for R80, 000.
They were arrested immediately and the pangolin was handed over to authorities for safekeeping.
Suspects are aged between 47 and 62 and were scheduled to appear in the Welkom Magistrates Court on Friday, 5 June 2026, for the alleged contraventions of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004 (NEMBA) and Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962.
Picture: SAPS newsroom