An alleged abalone thief has been nabbed in Cape Town. The spokesperson for Traffic Services in the City, Maxine Bezuidenhout, says the arrest of the suspect for the illegal possession of abalone this morning was sparked by a traffic violation.
An alleged abalone thief nabbed in Cape Town
A City Traffic Officer was driving on the Glencairn Expressway at around 07:30, when he saw the driver of a Chevy Spark overtaking another vehicle on a solid line, and at speed. Bezuidenhout says the officer conducted a traffic stop and noticed a number of bags in the back of the vehicle. He also noticed the driver behaving in a suspicious manner. He then requested permission to conduct a search.
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Traffic transgression sparks solid abalone arrest
She says the traffic official discovered two bags filled with these marine gastropod molluscs in the vehicle. He then placed the 27-year-old driver under arrest. The suspect was then detained at the Simon’s Town police station.
The value of the perlemoen, not yet been determined
At this stage, it’s not clear how many pieces of these sea snails with a distinctive ear-shaped shell were confiscated. The value of the perlemoen has also not yet been determined. Bezuidenhout says officials from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries were also alerted to the perlemoen bust.
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