R6m abalone stash seized on Botswana border

Abalone worth as estimated R6m has been seized at the border between SA and Botswana.

A truck attempting to cross the border on Wednesday at Grobler’s Bridge‚ Limpopo‚ was searched after a tip-off‚ said Hawks spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke.

Dried abalone was found inside potato bags in a hidden compartment‚ with passports belonging to two Zambians.

Two men jumped off the truck and fled when Hawks officers approached‚ and anyone who knows their whereabouts is asked to contact Colonel Sakkie Brancon on 071-481-3177.

A report last month by Traffic‚ which monitors global trade in wildlife‚ said SA’s neighbours — including Botswana‚ Zimbabwe‚ Swaziland‚ Namibia and Mozambique — acted as middlemen for nearly half of poached abalone shipped to Hong Kong between 2000 and 2016.

One of the measures Traffic called for in its report‚ Empty Shells‚ was regional collaboration in sub-Saharan Africa to restrict abalone exports through neighbouring countries.

Between 2000 and 2016‚ according to the report‚ two-thirds of SA abalone traded internationally was poached. This involved 96 million individual molluscs‚ or more than 15‚000 a day.

The number of poached abalone reached 9.5 million in 2016‚ the highest so far at more than 26‚000 a day‚ but law enforcement authorities are confiscating only an estimated 14%.