'Arch villain' poacher jailed for 20 years

The mastermind behind a multimillion-rand abalone poaching syndicate that plundered tons of the delicacy on the Cape coast – and smuggled the contraband in potato bags – has been jailed for 20 years.

Morne Blignault‚ 47‚ was described as the mastermind behind the racketeering enterprise when he was sentenced in the Port Elizabeth High Court.

In a scathing judgment on Wednesday‚ Judge Dayalin Chetty said: "The plunder continues unabated and the stage has been reached for appropriate sentences to stem the unrelenting poaching tide."

The Herald  reported that a former employee had revealed an intricate web of illegal activities orchestrated by Blignault and five others. In a statement‚ he revealed how fresh abalone was frozen and taken to a farm to be sorted‚ cooked‚ dried and preserved‚ then packed into bags used for potatoes and transported out of Port Elizabeth.

A total of 373‚456 units of abalone‚ weighing more than six tons and valued at R5.25m‚ were seized from the farm. Two foreign nationals involved in the poaching operation had been deported to China.

Blignault’s co-accused‚ including his ex-wife Marshelle‚ have already pleaded guilty to charges‚ including racketeering and the illegal trade in abalone. They will be sentenced on Thursday.

Business Day  reported on Thursday that government had indicated that it was increasing its marine guard services to curb rising levels of abalone – or perlemoen as it is known in South Africa – poaching.

Demand for abalone by Chinese gangs had caused stocks to be depleted at a record rate in South Africa‚ costing the country $60m (about R878-million) annually‚ according to a report this week by wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC.

TRAFFIC said the country’s coasts had been stripped of at least 96-million abalone in the past 18 years‚ with 9.6-million poached in 2016 alone.

"We are increasing our marine guard services to cope with the pressure‚" said Khaye Nkwanyana‚ spokesman for agriculture‚ fisheries and forestry minister Senzeni Zokwana.

Blignault initially pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering and contravening the Marine Living Resources Act. However‚ he changed his tune and pleaded guilty to all the charges earlier in September.