Perlemoen found on farm
2006-10-23 18:29
Cape Town - Twenty-four people were arrested and more than 30 000 perlemoen (abalone) seized in raids by the department of environmental affairs and tourism (Deat) at the weekend.
Deat spokesperson Blessing Manale said 11 people had been arrested in the Northern Cape and 13 in the Western Cape.
In the first raid, 20 600 perlemoen were recovered from a farm at Steinkopf near Springbok in the Northern Cape.
Eleven people, one a Chinese national, were arrested on the farm and four vehicles, a caravan and drying equipment were confiscated.
Meanwhile, in the Overberg area 10 780 perlemoen were recovered in two separate raids on Saturday.
About 10 000 perlemoen were recovered in Buffelsjag.
More perlemoen was recovered from a house in Gansbaai where two people were arrested.
In another incident, in Napier near Bredasdorp, seven people were arrested and police recovered 5 600 perlemoen. A vehicle was also recovered.
Manale said further details about the raids were not yet known.
The latest recovery was made on Monday morning at Meerensee near Hermanus.
Tip-offs coming from public
Twenty-nine bags of perlemoen were confiscated and four people were arrested.
Manale said the estimated value of the perlemoen was not known because of the large quantity recovered.
The arrests were made after tip-offs from the public.
"With increasing tip-offs and co-operation from communities, it becomes clear that communities are becoming impatient with poachers and others who illegally exploit our marine resources.
"Poachers are warned that no matter where they are engaging with these illegal activities, they will be exposed," said Manale.
He said those arrested were expected to appear in different courts soon.
- SAPA