US national arrested in South Africa on wildlife trafficking, weapons charges

U.S. national Derek Lewitton has been arrested in South Africa on wildlife trafficking and firearms charges.

A U.S. national has been arrested in South Africa on wildlife trafficking and firearms charges, South African authorities have announced.

Derek Lewitton, a Texan, was arrested Dec. 22 following a raid on his Harmony Gate Estate ranch in Limpopo Province by the South African Police Services' Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) units.

Limpopo Police spokesman Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said authorities discovered 26 rhinoceros carcasses at Lewitton's ranch and 10 unmarked rhino horns in a safe, as well as seven allegedly illegal firearms and "hundreds of rounds of ammunition" in an hours-long operation following a police tip-off.

"From the helicopter the place looked like a slaughterhouse," said Provincial Commissioner of Police Major General Jan Scheepers, describing the scene. "Everywhere you looked, rhinos were lying there dead."

Investigations are underway into the circumstances at the ranch that led to the animals' deaths, according to Scheepers, who also said there are likely to be "many more" carcasses on the property.