A Kenyan man was among nine suspects arrested in Cape Town, South Africa on Tuesday, October 14.
The 23-year-old and eight other foreign nationals were nabbed in a raid conducted by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) officers, popularly known as 'The Hawks', working with the Department of Environmental Affairs.
During the sting operation, the multi-agent team managed to recover abalones worth more than R20 million, which when converted, amounts to Ksh150 million.
"The Hawks' team together with the department, Crime Intelligence and SAPS K9 Overberg Cluster had a successful operation on Tuesday after they arrested nine foreign nationals for abalone smuggling with an estimated value of more than R20.2 million," the Hawks spokesperson, Zinzi Hani, noted.
The nine were arrested in two separate raids and were suspected to be members of a larger smuggling ring.
In the first raid, the security recovered dried abalone in possession of Chinese and Zimbabwean nationals valued at Ksh48.8 million (R6.5 million), while the rest was recovered in the second raid.
"The team seized more abalone and equipment valued at more than R13 million (Ksh101.3 million). Kenyan and Somalian Nationals were arrested," Hani added.
Abalones are large see snails which are scarce. They are often found in the waters of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the west coast of North America.
Aside from their scarcity, the meat from abalones is known to be rich in nutrients and flavor. Considered a culinary delicacy, abalones fetch top dollar in local and international markets.
Hani explained that four of the suspects were apprehended for allegedly operating an illegal abalone processing facility in Welgemoed.
The suspects appeared before Bellville Magistrate's Court on October 14.
