Perlemoen police taunted

2003-07-08 21:41

Vera Schoeman

Port Elizabeth - "We came to look at the sea, the waves and the clouds." These were the words of a group of men taunting the police's task force combating perlemoen poaching at the Willows holiday resort outside the city.

Among the men watching the police battling with their bakkie's two flat tyres, were William Smith and Brett Alcock, the brother of the former EP rugby captain.

Alcock also asked the police what had happened to his shoes which he claims were left "lying in the bush" after a previous visit to the beach.

The acting head, inspector Mornay van Vuuren, says the police received information early on Tuesday morning that divers were removing a bag filled with perlemoen from the sea.

Inspector Vernon Arries of the department's marine and coastal management office left for the resort and parked his bakkie in the parking area.

Van Vuuren says Arries saw three divers acting suspiciously and when they saw him, they left the water empty-handed.

When he returned to his bakkie, two front tyres were flat. Inspector Shandor Naggy, the task force's dog handler, says pebbles were found in the valves.

Police divers were sent to dive where the men earlier left the water, and two bags of shelled perlemoen weighing about 25kg were discovered.

Van Vuuren says: "There's often confrontations between perlemoen divers and especially residents of Schoenmakerskop, who regularly inform the police of diving activities. " He says it hasn't led to violence yet, but the situation is tense.

He says: "We will not allow innocent members of the public to be threatened and harassed."

Some of the onlookers said that perlemoen smuggling was the only source of income for many families.

"It's not easy money, because every time you walk into the sea, you gamble with your life. Anything can happen."

- Die Burger