By Buziwe Nocuze
Three men, all foreign nationals, were arrested after being caught with 716 units of perlemoen and drying equipment.
Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said the suspects were arrested after Maitland Flying Squad members searched a house in Winsor Park, Kraaifontein, on Thursday and found the perlemoen and drying equipment.
They will appear at the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court soon.
Spruce Eats explains that abalone (perlemoen in South Africa) is a sea snail found in the cold waters of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Japan and off the west coast of North America.
It has extremely rich, flavourful and highly prized meat, considered a culinary delicacy.
South Africa is the only country where it is illegal to harvest abalone.
A Kraaifontein resident said South Africans were helping the foreign nationals.
“I don’t believe that they are working alone. They need to name their accomplices. Most of them work with South Africans. They don’t respect our laws – they would never do what they are doing in their countries,” she said.
In an unrelated incident, police received information from the Langa community, who had just caught a fellow resident stealing infrastructure.
JP Smith, Cape Town’s MCM for Safety and Security, said that, according to residents, the same suspect had been released from prison two months ago after being punished for the same thing.
“Communities are tired of rampant theft and damage of infrastructure across our communities. In some instances, street light cabling is replaced, but within 24 hours and under cover of darkness, the cabling is again stolen,” said Smith.
The suspect was taken to the Langa SAPS.
Pictured above: SAPS members arrested three foreign nationals after they found perlemoen and drying equipment in a house.
Image source: Supplied
