Three foreigners will appear in court on Tuesday after being arrested in what police described as one of the biggest abalone busts in recent years in the Western Cape.
Police raided a property on Sunday and discovered abalone and equipment worth an estimated R10.3m at Rylands in Cape Town.
A tactical response team (TRT) arrested a 53-year-old Chinese national and two Zimbabweans aged 28 and 31.
“Members of the TRT acted on information about an abalone storage facility which led them to an address in the industrial area of Rylands, near Philippi,” said police spokesperson Lt-Col Malcolm Pojie.
“Upon arrival, members noticed how a suspect who stood at the entrance gate to the premises attempted to run away.”
Police arrested the man and discovered a large storage building converted into an abalone processing facility. Two men were processing a substantial quantity of abalone inside: 11,485 wet and 15,200 dry abalone. The suspects face charges of illegal possession of abalone.
During another TRT operation 2,505 units of abalone were found abandoned in a vehicle at Nyanga.
TimesLIVE
Kim Swartz
www.timeslive.co.za
