While abalone poaching remains a huge challenge, a stiff sentence handed down to three Chinese nationals in the Cape Town Regional Court is prove of progress being made in the curbing of this global criminal activity.
The court yesterday, Wednesday, 16 February 2011, sentenced Jason Ho, Zhi Wen and Wei Lin to direct imprisonment after they were found guilty of the illegal possession of abalone. It is the first time ever that a sentence of this nature has been imposed on foreign nationals for abalone related crimes.
Two of the men (Zhi Wen and Wei Lin) were each sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and the third (Jason Ho) was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment. They will serve their sentence in a South African correctional facility.
The men were arrested in Cape Town on 5 July 2010 during a joint operation involving officials from the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Unit of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and members of the SAPS Organised Crime Unit.
The operation followed extensive surveillance on two suspected illegal abalone processing establishments in Table View and Parklands respectively.
During the operation 14 140 and 16 976 units of dried and processed abalone were seized at the Table View and Parklands premises. A further 1 093 Units of wet abalone were also seized at the Table View premises.
This case may also be linked to an abalone export syndication which is under investigation and is expected to be heard in court soon.
Due to the collapse of most abalone fisheries in the world, coupled with the drastic decline of many wild fish stocks, South Africa has become a target for syndicates wanting to plunder its wild abalone resources. Poachers often work in association with illegal drug dealers and other organised crime elements.
For further enquiries contact:
Carol Moses
Tel: 021 402 3448
E-mail: CarolMO@daff.gov.za
