Three men were arrested after being caught red-handed in possession of protected plants worth R3.5m at Nieuwoudtville in the Northern Cape.
The town in the Namakwa district municipality is famous for its unique biodiversity and is regarded as the “bulb capital of the world”.
Local police, detectives and conservation personnel swooped on the trio on Tuesday, acting on information about plant poaching.
The suspects — aged 23, 41 and 47 — had 518 Clivia mirabilis plants and 29 Clivia mirabilis seeds.
They will appear in the Calvinia magistrate’s court soon.
Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Koliswa Otola commended local police and Oorlogskloof Nature Conservation personnel for the bust.
TimesLIVE
Trio caught red-handed with haul of protected plants in Northern Cape
Three men were arrested after being caught red-handed in possession of protected plants worth R3.5m at Nieuwoudtville in the Northern Cape.
The town in the Namakwa district municipality is famous for its unique biodiversity and is regarded as the “bulb capital of the world”.
Local police, detectives and conservation personnel swooped on the trio on Tuesday, acting on information about plant poaching.
The suspects — aged 23, 41 and 47 — had 518 Clivia mirabilis plants and 29 Clivia mirabilis seeds.
They will appear in the Calvinia magistrate’s court soon.
Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Koliswa Otola commended local police and Oorlogskloof Nature Conservation personnel for the bust.
TimesLIVE
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