Staff Writer
THREE people will appear in court today after they were found in possession of crayfish tails worth R2 million this week.
Police spokesman André Traut said members of the Cape Town K9 Unit began patrols in Somerset West and Strand on Wednesday after they were given information about a white Honda CR-V SUV transporting crayfish from Hawston to Cape Town.
At 10pm they spotted the SUV along the N2 near Lwandle, where they pulled it over.
Police then searched the vehicle and found 13 bags containing crayfish tails.
All three occupants – a 20-year-old man from Steenberg, a 43-year-old man from Woodstock and a 34-year-old woman from Grassy Park – were arrested and taken to Lwandle, where they were detained. The vehicle was also seized.
Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, who counted the tails, found that the haul amounted to 5 578, with an estimated street value of R2m.
The three are due to appear in the Strand Magistrate’s Court today.
“The three suspects are due to appear… on charges of the illegal possession and transportation of an excessive amount of crayfish tails,” Traut said. “The legal limit for an individual to possess crayfish is four per permit.”