South African police have seized 167 rhino horns believed to have been destined for Asia.

Two suspects were arrested in the sting operation in the North West province on Saturday, which followed a tipoff. Police said it was one of the biggest hauls of rhino horns in the country.

“We arrested them on Saturday in the Hartbeespoort dam area. They were driving in a vehicle and they were intercepted,” said Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi, a spokesman for the Hawks, an elite police unit. “It was an intelligence-driven operation that led to the arrest of the two. They were found in possession of those 167 rhino horns.”

The suspects, aged 57 and 61, are expected to appear before magistrates on Monday.

Police said the rhino horns were worth a “substantial amount of money” and were destined for south-east Asian markets.

Demand for rhino horn is primarily fuelled by consumers in China and Vietnam, where it is advertised by some traditional medicine practitioners as a wonder ingredient. In reality it comprises little more than keratin, the protein that makes human hair and fingernails.

Horns can fetch up to £45,000 a kilo in Asia, stoking lucrative transnational crime networks that have decimated rhino populations in recent decades.

South Africa, which is home to about 80% of the world rhino population, has been hit hardest. In 2018, 769 rhinos were poached in South Africa alone. More than 7,100 animals have been killed over the past decade.