Maputo — The authorities have detained for the second time a notorious Mozambican poacher, Simon Ernesto Valoi, known in the world of crime as "Boss Navarra'.
Valoi has been held in a Mozambican prison since July 2022. According to a report in the Maputo daily "Noticias', Valoi refused to name his accomplices, who remain at large.
Investigators set a trap for Valoi. Pretending to be corrupt, they provided him with a mobile phone through which he could contact his relatives and other members of the poaching ring.
Valoi took the bait and, in an exchange of phone calls and messages, he activated his accomplices who had crossed into South Africa, where they killed a rhinoceros.
These phone contacts allowed the Mozambican authorities to round up all Valoi's associates, accused of being members of the same poaching ring. Valoi's relatives were also detained, on the grounds that they had assisted the organized crime network.
Valoi was arrested for the second time, even though he is already serving a 30 year prison sentence.
When he was detained in July last year, he was in possession of eight rhinoceros horns, weighing 7.5 kilos, and valued at over 470,000 US dollars.
