Two foreign nationals aged 34 and 47 were apprehended by the Gqeberha Serious Organised Crime Investigation of the Hawks in joint efforts with Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC), Dark Water Ops and Marine life Environment control members for possession of abalone and illegal operating abalone plant on 2 January 2025.
The joint team received information about a particular illegal abalone operating plant at Neave Township in Gqeberha on 2 January 2025. The team swiftly responded and conducted the operation where on their arrival at aforesaid plant, two foreign nationals were inside busy drying, processing and properly organising the abalone. Inside the premises 10510 wet and dry abalone units weigh 1061 kilograms to the value of more than R4.4 million were seized.
The equipment which were 16x Black tuds filled with wet abalone, 2x Cooking pots, 1x Scale, 8x Gas tanks, 13x Industrial fans, 1x Deep fridge, 33x Dry racks, Tube pipes, 6x Heat plates, 52x empty tubes, 50x Blue plastic sheets, 450x large plastic bags, 10 kg chloride tube, 20 kg salt bags, 3x cell phones, note book containing weights and 1x Sif was also confiscated.
The suspects were arrested on the spot charged accordingly. Both suspects are due to appear before New Bright Magistrate’s court on 6 January 2025.
The Acting Provincial Head of the Hawks Brigadier Fernando Luis expressed his gratitude to the joint team for successfully uncovering the clandestine abalone plant and the arrest of suspects for contravention of the Marine Living Resources Act, 18 of 1998.
