Two foreigners were arrested yesterday in Wellington, a Cape Winelands town, for illegally possessing abalone worth millions of Rands. The perlemoen has a street value of R7 million.
Two foreigners were arrested for illegally being in possession of perlemoen
Police say a 38-year-old Zimbabwean national and a 34-year-old Malawian national were detained and they will face a charge of possession of abalone. Sergeant Wesley Twigg says the suspects will appear in the local Magistrates Court on Friday.
Intelligence-driven operation leads to abalone confiscation
Twigg says police members attached to Kuilsrivier Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit in conjunction with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Investigation Unit carried out the arrests on Wednesday, 13 November 2024, during an intelligence-driven operation. He says officers had received information of a truck carrying abalone which was headed to Gauteng.
ADDITIONAL READING: Seven arrested in major Western Cape abalone smuggling bust
Two vehicles were searched and abalone seized
The identified truck was traced to the Wellington industrial area, where it was searched. Members discovered perlemoen weighing 567.40 kilogrammes, concealed in black bags. At the same time, a Volkswagen Caddy was also searched, where more abalone was found. That abalone weighed 463,89 kilogrammes. Officials say the estimated street value of the perlemoen is R7 million.
