The Hawks' fight against the trade in ivory and endangered species has led to two busts in the east of Johannesburg this week.
The Hawks' Capt Ndivhuwo Mulamu said the unit's serious organised crime investigation team together with the Johannesburg metro police dog unit arrested three suspects in possession of abalone, scylla serrate (mud crabs) and sea cucumbers.
The suspects were arrested in Cyrildene, Johannesburg, on Tuesday after their vehicle was searched and was found loaded with scylla serrate. Further investigations led the team to a house in the suburb where they found a further 1,020 units of scylla serrate, 287 units of abalone, and 140kg of sea cucumbers.
The trio is appearing before the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Thursday for contravention of the Marine Act.