Cape Town - Two suspects are expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday after the Hawks busted them with abalone worth R1.4 million.
Two suspects, aged 43 and 54, are facing charges related to operating an illegal abalone processing facility in Milnerton, Cape Town.
The pair was arrested on Tuesday, 18 May 2020, following an intelligence driven operation by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation, Crime Intelligence and K9 unit, after they pounced on the identified premises along Algoa Street.
The team seized equipment used to process abalone, over 1 000 units of dried abalone with an estimated value of R1.4 million and two vehicles. The suspects have been charged for contravening the Living Resource Marine Act.
In separate incident a 37-year-old suspect arrested in connection with a truck travelling to Cape Town carrying cocaine worth over R30.4 million is expected to appear in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court today.
According to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (DPCI), its Narcotics Enforcement Bureau acted swiftly on information and intercepted the truck.
Hawks spokesperson Philani Nkwalase said the truck was intercepted at a petrol station on the N1 in the early hours of Sunday.
“A search ensued and members seized a total of 38 packages of cocaine weighing 1kg each.”
A 37-year-old suspect was arrested. Preliminary investigations have established that the container came from abroad and passed through different provinces before making its way to Cape Town.
The National Head of the DPCI, Godfrey Lebeya, applauded the team for the arrest and drug seizure.
“This haul and many others that have been recently confiscated show that the supply chains of organised criminal groups have been severed.”
He called on the community not to support criminal groups by buying drugs “as this demand will encourage the syndicates to find new ways of providing these dangerous substances.”
Reagen Allen, MPL and DA Western Cape community safety spokesperson, said: “Our courts should send a strong message that narcotics and drug-related crimes will be appropriately dealt with.”
Drug dealing would be curbed in the province and he called on members of the public to send tip-offs to the relevant bodies to ensure drugs remained off the streets.