Africa Wild

Abalone worth R4.8m seized in Milnerton police raid
2019-02-02 18:04

Jenni Evans


Western Cape police seized yet another stash of abalone, this time stocks worth R4.8m hidden in a house in Milnerton, a spokesperson said on Saturday.

Two foreign nationals were arrested during the swoop in Ashton Street on Friday night as police continue a crack down abalone poaching.

A 25-year-old and 34-year-old were arrested and will appear in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Police also found abalone processing equipment such as shelves, fans, and gas cylinders.

Abalaone is a mollusc found in a big shell, and is known as perlemoen in South Africa. It is harvested wild from the sea, or grown at licensed abalone farms.

Cracking down on poaching of the delicacy, which is often dried to reduce its weight for export, has been at the centre of a Department of a Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) disciplinary hearing held in Cape Town recently.

A finance director, Nazima Parker, at the fisheries office in Cape Town faced misconduct charges over an alleged swop out of fresh confiscated stocks, for rotten stock from an evidence warehouse.

Illegal stock is confiscated frequently, and is auctioned off with a percentage of the money going to DAFF to counter poaching.

Parker pleaded not guilty at her disciplinary hearing and although she left it carried on without her.

As the disciplinary wound down in January, DAFF Minister Senzeni Zokwana launched a sudden court application to force the director-general, Mike Mlengana, to stop the disciplinary hearing.

This was on the grounds that a classified document might be made public, and that law enforcement officials were still busy with their own probe into that and fishing rights allocations. The Public Protector is also investigating a complaint related to the matter.

That application was postponed to February 8 in the Western Cape High Court.

During the brief application in January, the court heard that two other officials are to have their disciplinary hearings in March.

Traut said that provincial police commissioner of the Western Cape, Lieutenant-General Khominkosi, commended his members for the outcome of their intervention to fight the scourge of abalone poaching, and by ensuring that offenders are brought to book.

https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News ... d-20190202

We are still where we were last year

It’s like rhino poaching. The day when it will stop is the day when nothing is left

Perlemoen poaching kingpin and co-accused found guilty

BY DEVON KOEN - 05 February 2019


Julian Brown
Image: Eugene Coetzee

Perlemoen poaching kingpin Julian Brown has been found guilty on charges of racketeering and contravening the Marine Living Resources Act in the Port Elizabeth High.

On Tuesday, during a lengthy judgement judge, Mandela Makaula said evidence from five state witnesses coupled with that of the police had proven without a doubt that Brown and his two co-accused had established and managed an extensive perlemoen poaching enterprise in Port Elizabeth.

Brown, 32, and his co-accused Brandon Turner, 38, were each found guilty on charges of racketeering and the contravention of the Marine Living Resources Act while their co-accused Eugene Victor, 33, was convicted on a string of other charges including forgery and defeating the ends of justice.

Makaula said the state had proved that Brown, with the assistance of his right-hand man, Victor, had established and managed an enterprise with the purpose of conducting poaching activities. Brown was acquitted on a charge of money laundering.

After Makaula convicted the men Brown and Turner’s respective legal representatives asked for the court to divert from normal procedures and extend the bail of the two men.

Makaula dismissed the request and ordered that they be held in custody until their next court appearance.

Victor has been in custody after he was sent back to jail last year for failing to adhere to his bail conditions.

Sentencing proceedings are expected to begin on Wednesday.

JOHANNESBURG - Police have arrested two suspects in possession of a truckload of abalone with an estimated street value of R28 million.

The suspects were arrested on Monday evening.



“Information of a truck transporting abalone to Gauteng on the N1 freeway was pursued and near Rooikoppies the truck was stopped and inspected by SAPS. Two male suspects, aged 37 and 31 were arrested and detained,” said Western Cape police spokesperson André Traut.

They will appear in court at Touws River.
eNCA

https://www.enca.com/news/two-bust-afte ... worth-r28m

R28 million!! How many abalone is that???