A man has pleaded guilty to posession of illegal abalone valued at more than R3 million.
Husaini Adam (50) appeared before the Kroonstad Regional Court on Wednesday, 2 November, where he pleaded guilty. He was fined R60 000 or 10 years in prison, of which R30 000 and 5 years were suspended.
On 5 July information was received by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit in Bloemfontein about the suspect who was transporting abalone from the Free State to Gauteng.
Members of the Welkom Serious Organised Crime Investigation team and the Kroonstad Highway Patrol unit followed the truck and stopped it at a filling station in Kroonstad.
The searched the truck and found 26 boxes of abalone packed with 8 381 units. They also found R25 000 cash.
Three people were arrested with Adams. His co-accused Fu Lin (37) and Dasham Desram (35) will again appear in court on 17 December. They are out on R10 000 bail. The third suspect, Johannes Myberg (40), has been remanded in custody until the court appearance in December.
