Following an investigation by the Boland K9 Unit, a search was conducted by them at a warehouse in Paarl East. On Tuesday 5 March 2019 approximately 13:00, they entered the enclosed premises in Hermitage Street where they uncovered an illegal abalone processing facility.
Numerous containers and plastic bags filled with shucked abalone, 50 kilogram bags of salt, a steel cooking pot, gas cylinders and burners, as well as a scale was found in the lower level of the premises. In an adjacent room and the kitchen, the members recovered a large amount of dried abalone on the floor and in boxes, together with more scales.
Two rooms were also equipped as drying rooms. On the upper level, the members found two more bags of dried abalone, a bedroom and another room in which three men attempted to hide from the police, one of them lying behind a geyser.
Three suspects aged 25, 23 and 27 were arrested on charges under the Living Marine Resources Act.
Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries were summoned to the scene and are currently counting the abalone seized. Detectives from Provincial Organised Crime investigation were on the scene and are to investigate the matter.
The three suspects will appear in Paarl Magistrates Court on Thursday.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
