The country is home to most of the world's rhinos and is a hotspot for poaching driven by demand in Asia where the horns fetch high prices on the black market.
Hunting safari operator Dawie Groenewald was fined R2 million (US$122,860) on Wednesday after entering into a plea deal in a case marred by numerous delays and court challenges since 2010, the police's elite Hawks unit said.
Wild white rhinos are seen at an undisclosed location in the North West Province of South Africa in 2023. Photo by AFP
He and his co-accused faced more than 1,700 charges including racketeering, money laundering, illegal hunting and dehorning of rhinoceroses, it said in a statement.
Ten of the state's 185 witnesses had passed away while the case was before the courts and some had emigrated, it said. Two of the original 11 accused had since died.
