A coordinated operation by the multidisciplinary Abalone Task Team in the Kouga Municipal area led to the arrest of five suspected poachers along the Jeffrey’s Bay coastline on Thursday, 10 July 2025.
Acting on intelligence, officers conducted a targeted waylay operation, intercepting a group of men allegedly carrying bags filled with abalone. The suspects, aged between 22 and 37, were apprehended under the Marine Living Resources Act (Act No. 18 of 1998). Authorities confiscated abalone with an estimated street value of R250,000.
The suspects are scheduled to appear in the Humansdorp Magistrate’s Court today, 11 July 2025, to face charges related to illegal poaching and possession of protected marine resources.
