GEORGE NEWS - Following years of patient investigation, the illegal abalone trade in the Western Cape has been dealt a major blow when the Hawks in George arrested eight suspects between the ages of 45 and 65 for their involvement in an abalone poaching syndicate.
According to a spokesperson for the Hawks, WO Zinzi Hani, a total of 25,3t of abalone, with a value of about R37m, was seized from the suspects since the inception of the investigation by the Hawks in George in 2016.
The suspects were arrested during a takedown operation with a series of tracing operations across the Western Cape and Garden Route on Monday 10 June.
Warrants of arrest were executed by the multi-disciplinary team led by the Hawks and supported by the Public Order Police and Anti-Gang Unit from the Overberg District.
Seven suspects, Jerome Jacobs (51), Magnon Swartz (56), Marius Robyn Hendricks (50), Francois Visser (46), Jacob 'Jappie' Arendse (56), Danny Ralph Marais (65) and Koobadran Naidoo (62), were arrested in the Cape Peninsula, Overberg and Garden Route areas on Monday, while the first suspect, Jianxian Wu, was arrested in Brits in the North West Province in May this year.
The company, Kaiden Logistics CC, was also charged as it was instrumental in the operation. "The criminal grouping was mainly operating in the Western Cape and Gauteng," said Hani.
All the suspects appeared in the George Magistrate's Court on Tuesday 11 June.
Read more on www.georgeherald.com
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