Hawks arrest two over possession of US$700k worth of abalone
CAPE TOWN, May 18 (ANA) – The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) said on Tuesday it had arrested two men for the possession of abalone worth over R9.9 million (over US$700,000).
In a statement, Hawks spokeswoman Zinzi Hani said the two suspects, aged 28 and 35, would face charges at the Atlantis magistrate’s court on Wednesday of possessing and transporting illegal abalone in terms of South Africa’s Marine Living Resources Act.
Hani said the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team, Crime Intelligence and officials from the Department of Environmental Forestry and Fisheries had received information that illegal abalone was being moved.
During an operation, a white Hino truck and a white Audi were identified while driving on the N7 highway in the direction of Malmesbury, Hani said. The team stopped both vehicles at a local petrol station near Philadelphia.
The Hino was being driven by a Zimbabwean national while the Audi was being driven by a Chinese national. The team inspected both vehicles and found dried abalone in a hidden compartment underneath the Hino truck.
The vehicles were subsequently impounded and taken to the Philadelphia police station for further investigation, Hani said.
A further inspection revealed another 70 boxes containing 23,896 dried abalone with an estimated street value of R9.9 million.
Last week, a 38-year-old man was arrested after he was found in possession of two and a half elephant tusks in Table View.
Hani said members of the Crime Intelligence, Counter Narcotics and Gangs Group received prior information that a person in a Mercedes Benz would be transporting the elephant tusks.
The suspect was stopped and the team found raw and processed ivory tusks worth R81,315 (US$5,809).
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa