Cape Town - A foreign national is expected to appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday after he was found in possession of abalone worth over R634 000.
According to the spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Zinzi Hani, the 29-year-old man was arrested on Monday at a residence in Bellville.
She said the arrest was perpetrated by a multidisciplinary team.
“The Hawks’ Economic Protected Resources team (EPR) Western Cape together with Crime Intelligence Counter Narcotics and Gangs, the Bellville Crime Prevention Unit, and officials from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment arrested foreign national in Bellville yesterday in possession of over R643 000 worth of abalone.
“The Western Cape EPR team received information about abalone being stored at a house in lona Street, Bellville,” Hani said.
She said that when the team entered the premises, the foreign national was sitting in a silver Mercedes-Benz.
“An endangered species K9 detection dog was activated and reacted positively at the boot of the vehicle as well as at the container that was found on the premises.
“On opening the boot of the vehicle, they found five boxes containing 2 055 units of dried abalone, and the driver of the vehicle was arrested. Subsequent to that, the container on the premises was also opened and 20 more boxes of dried abalone were discovered weighing 464kg with an estimated value of more than R2.8 million,” Hani said.
She said the suspect was arrested immediately.
“The team arrested the foreign national for the possession of abalone found in the vehicle and is due to appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, May 31, once he’s been charged with illegal possession of abalone.
“One of the SAPS priorities is to see a reduction of illegal abalone trade in the province, and we urge the community to continue reporting all illegal activities at their nearest police stations or contact the SAPS toll-free Crime Stop number 08600 10111,” Hani added.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
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