Abalone Poaching

[Lisbeth]

Perlemoen suspect Brown ‘bailed poachers out as he wanted to help’
BY DEVON KOEN - 02 August 2018

Alleged perlemoen kingpin Julian Brown admitted in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Wednesday to knowing several poachers whom he had bailed out of jail on condition they paid him back with interest.

Testifying, Brown, 32, weaved numerous tales together of how he had got to know people involved in poaching activities, yet denied any involvement himself.

At one stage, judge Mandela Makaula reprimanded Brown for not answering questions put to him by the state. “You forget the questions. “You go on a tangent and forget what has been asked,” Makaula said.

Brown admitted to knowing his co-accused, Eugene “Boesman” Victor, for more than a decade, and conceded that he knew Victor was involved in perlemoen poaching.

He said he had tried to steer him away from this.

“I am always trying to help people,” Brown said.

He denied knowing third co-accused Brandon Turner.

Brown told the court he knew Victor’s brother-in-law, Renier Ellerbeck, who was arrested while driving on Marine Drive in April 2015 for possession of perlemoen, but again claimed he had tried to steer Ellerbeck away from criminal activities.

Ellerbeck turned state witness and assisted the police in the investigation into Brown.

Prosecutor Martin le Roux pointed out that on the day of Ellerbeck’s arrest, Brown had been in contact with him several times, including at the exact time he was arrested.

Brown had also been in contact with alleged perlemoen transporter Sheron Smith.

Asked why he had been in contact with the two, Brown first said he could not recall, then said both men owed him money.

Although Brown’s company, J&B Construction, had a monthly turnover of between R400,000 and R500,000 a month, he said he did not have enough money to pay his R800,000 bail after his arrest in June 2016, and had to borrow from friends.

“A lot of people know me. I know a lot of people. I have over 5,000 friends on Facebook,” Brown said.

After numerous denials of involvement in perlemoen poaching, Brown said he was a police informant but received no compensation.

He claimed a close relationship with investigating officer Captain Kanna Swanepoel, to whom he gave information.

However, he said his relationship with police investigator Captain Nicky Erasmus was strained, claiming Erasmus had a vendetta against him.

“Captain Erasmus taunted me . . . he said he will not retire until I am behind bars . . . guilty or not guilty he will make me guilty,” he said.

Brown said Erasmus’s alleged vendetta stemmed from the murder of his son’s friend, Garth du Preez, who was gunned down in 2015.

Brown and Du Preez were allegedly fighting with two other men on the night Du Preez was shot.

[Richprins]

Three in court for alleged possession of abalone worth more than R2.5m
2018-08-10 20:46

Sesona Ngqakamba


Three people briefly appeared in the Somerset West Magistrate's Court on Friday for the alleged possession of abalone worth more than R2.5m.

Shen Hongyu (43), Tu Dugn (27) and Ibrahem Abdalla Atieh Alnaimat (33) were arrested during an intelligence-driven operation on Wednesday at a Wine Farm in Somerset West, Hawks spokesperson Philani Nkwalase said.

Nkwalase said investigations by the Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit and Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) officials led to a search and seizure operation at an alleged illegal abalone laboratory.

He added that two vehicles and an undisclosed amount of cash were found during the search.

Alnaimat was released on R150 000 bail. Hongyu and Dugn are still in custody.

The case was postponed to the August 17 pending further investigations, Nkwalase said.
https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News ... m-20180810

[Lisbeth]

Are there still Abalone left? They do not live in that many places. Why are they so sought-after

[Flutterby]

Rampant poaching of wild abalone, whose fleshy snails are considered a delicacy in China and elsewhere, could drive the shellfish to extinction in South Africa within a decade.

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/201 ... th-africa/

[Lisbeth]

Again the Chinese

[Richprins]

An older story, but good news.


Fisheries officers 'killed abalone poachers with rampant rubber duck'
30 May 2018 - 15:52 By Bobby Jordan

One man is confirmed dead and up to three more may be missing after an offshore clash between abalone poachers and fisheries compliance officers‚ it emerged on Wednesday.

Compliance officers in a large rubber duck allegedly “ran over” a smaller vessel carrying several divers near Dyer Island‚ off Pearly Beach in the Overberg region of the Western Cape‚ before dawn on Sunday.

Police confirmed one body had since been found‚ but community members say others are still missing.

The Department of Agriculture‚ Forestry and Fisheries confirmed the incident but denied their vessel had ridden over the suspects they were pursuing.

“They [the compliance officers] are not in the business of running boats over‚” said Daff spokeswoman Carol Moses. “Our officials were just doing their job and the poachers jumped overboard to try and get away. A search ensued and nobody was found.”

Police spokesman Frederik van Wyk confirmed an official inquiry had been changed to an inquest investigation following the discovery on Tuesday of the body of Mortimer Booysen‚ from Gansbaai‚ who had previously been reported missing.

He said the police were not aware of any further missing people related to the incident. The National Sea Rescue Institute confirmed it had been called to assist with the rescue.

The incident has sparked outrage within the small-scale fishing community‚ with many accusing Daff of brutal tactics.

One source claimed Saturday’s incident was the latest in a string of violent confrontations with trigger-happy compliance officers who used live ammunition.

“They have a grudge against poachers‚” said the source from the Hermanus area. “Poachers don’t have guns and knives‚ so why shoot the people? They shot the boat f***ed up with live ammunition. They shot the motors then came from behind.

“They saw the boat can go nowhere‚ so why did they come from behind and ride over the motors of the small boat? That is quite brutal.”

The source said the community was still missing at least three people‚ including one of his friends. “One of my friends is still missing‚ and [other] divers are still missing.

“My one friend is still in Worcester – they shot him through the hand and drove over him with the outboard propeller. It cut his leg open‚ and his right shoulder.”

In a statement this week‚ Daff said it had arrested more than 40 suspected poachers over the past three weeks as part of a crackdown against theft of marine resources. Five boats had also been confiscated.

The boat confiscated in Saturday was found to contain 2‚400 abalone units and 33 diving cylinders‚ the statement said.

A community source said divers had no option but to poach due to an absence of legal fishing quotas. The government’s long-awaited small-scale fishing rights policy is still being implemented. Policy experts hope it will bring stability to coastal communities by giving local divers a formal stake in the maritime economy.

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south- ... bber-duck/


A story in Beeld today about Pearly Beach though, where abalone poachers are openly terrorising the community. A man was killed by a speeding bakkie allegedly driven by one.

[Lisbeth]

Don't they realise that poaching is against the law? (It cannot be excluded though that the police is being too brutal)

[Richprins]

They are talking nonsense, Lis.

[Lisbeth]

[Lisbeth]

Hangberg: Why fishers have been turned into poachers