Chinese pair jailed for after abalone‚ dagga swoop on Cape West Coast smallholding
Two Chinese men were jailed for 18 months and fined R500‚000 in Cape Town on Friday for smuggling abalone and growing dagga. Han Ran‚ 31‚ and Zhao Huirm‚ 35‚ who appeared at the Khayelitsha Priority Crimes court‚ were arrested in April on a Langebaan smallholding where police found an abalone processing facility."Various rooms were found inside the building‚ including a cooking area‚ drying rooms‚ a sorting room and living quarters‚" said police spokesman Captain Andre Traut. "Numerous items of equipment used in the cooking and drying process were recovered which included large steel cooking pots‚ gas burners and cylinders‚ scales of different sizes‚ fans‚ drying shelves and temperature meters."A total of 37‚936 dried abalone were confiscated and police found another three rooms that were being equipped as hydroponic laboratories. "Various lights‚ reflectors‚ fans and other items of equipment were seized. At the rear of the building a hothouse was found in which various dagga plants were growing‚" said Traut."We are pleased with the outcome of this case and regard the sentences as a deterrent for poachers of our marine resources."..
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