Three foreign nationals are set to appear in the Athlone Magistrates’ Court in connection with what is described as the biggest abalone bust in the province in recent years.
This as police in the Western Cape netted abalone worth more than R10,3 million in the Rylands Industrial Area on Sunday 15 September.
Continued efforts by officers attached to the Provincial Tactical Response Team (TRT) ensured the apprehension of a 53-year-old Chinese national and two Zimbabwean nationals, aged 28 and 31.
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“About 17:00, members of the TRT acted on information about an abalone storage facility,” said police spokesperson Lt Col Malcolm Pojie, “which led them to an address situated in the industrial area of Rylands near Philippi. On arrival at the address police saw a suspect at the front gate of the premises, who tried to run away on spotting them. The members went in hot pursuit and managed to apprehend him, a Chinese national, and discovered a massive storage building that was converted into an abalone-processing facility. The members also apprehended two Zimbabwean nationals found inside the facility busy processing a substantial quantity of wet and dry abalone.”
Further inspection of the premises led to the discovery and confiscation of 11 485 wet and 15 200 dry abalone as well as equipment with a total estimated value of R10,3 million.
