Gauteng police have managed to rearrest a man who was on the run after tracking down another man linked to three consignments containing lion bones that have been seized at OR Tambo Airport over the last two months.

33-year-old Yin Li and 35-year-old Yun Li were arrested by a joint intelligence driven operation between the Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Unit and the Stock Theft Unit in Germiston and Cullinan on Tuesday.

"Yin Li was allegedly linked to three reported lion bones shipment worth an estimated value of R2.25m. The three large consignments, weighing 600kg, were seized at the OR Tambo International Airport in air cargo destined for Vietnam," Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu said in a statement on Friday.

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Yun Li had been on the run since being arrested in 2015 after being found in possession of rhino horn. He was arrested along with 34-year-old Amos Mututwa. He had been granted R2 000 bail by the Germiston Magistrate's Court. After failing to return to court, a warrant of arrest was issued for him.

The case against Yun Li was postponed to November 15 for a formal bail application when he appeared on Thursday at the Germiston Magistrate's Court. Yin Li will return to the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court on December 10, while Mututwa is expected to be back in court in January next year.