Pretoria - Three suspects are expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrates Court today in connection with illegal abalone fishing activities, said the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF).
The three were arrested following a collaborative clampdown on an abalone processing facility near Atlantis on Wednesday evening that saw 21 742 units of wet abalone being seized.
Officials from the Fisheries branch of the department as well as members of the Hawks and officials from the South African Revenue Services (SARS) swooped in on the premises confiscating the wet abalone, three walk-in freezers and other abalone fishing gear and equipment.
“This incident forms part of an on-going investigation into illegal abalone fishing activities and syndication,” said DAFF.
Two of the suspects are Mozambican nationals while the other is a South African national.
Last month, DAFF and the police clamped down on premises in the Mitchell’s Plain area following a tip-off where they seized illegal abalone worth R1.2 million. - SAnews.gov.za
