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Suspected poachers have been arrested.
- Port Elizabeth Police arrested three suspects charged with abalone poaching.
- They reportedly extracted more than 1950 from the shellfish at Cape Recife.
- Abalone worth R720,000 was found in his vehicle.
Three suspects were arrested in Port Elizabeth for the alleged possession of abalone worth more than R700,000.
In the early hours of Sunday, officers from the Port Elizabeth K9 Unit, Flying Squad and Darkwater Ops received a tip about poachers in the area, said police spokeswoman Capt.Sandra Janse van Rensburg.
“At approximately 00:05, members received information that abalone poachers were allegedly diving in the Cape Recife area. Road work was carried out in the area.
Port Elizabeth police arrested three suspects, charged with abalone poaching.
“The team noticed that the abalone was being loaded into a white Opel Corsa. Just after 06:00, the vehicle was followed and when an attempt was made to stop it, the driver started speeding up Beach Road, Summerstrand,” he added.
Two of the vehicle’s occupants were seen throwing two abalone bags out of the moving vehicle.
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The officers forced the driver to stop before conducting a search of the vehicle.
“When searching the vehicle, three bags and three backpacks with abalone were found. The two bags that were thrown from the vehicle were also recovered.
“A total of 1,952 abalone units were recovered with an estimated value of R720,000. The vehicle used was also impounded,” said Janse Van Rensburg.
The suspects, aged 18 to 26, will appear in Port Elizabeth Magistrates Court on Monday.
