Police welcomes hefty sentences for abalone smugglers

Western Cape: Hefty sentences handed down to abalone smugglers welcomed by SAPS.

The hefty sentences handed down to two abalone smugglers in the Khayelitsha Priority Court on Friday is welcomed by SAPS and we regard it as a stern warning directed at those involved in this lucrative trade.

The two Chinese nationals, aged 31 and 48, were sentenced with a fine of R1million each and five years imprisonment of which three years are suspended for a period of five years on a total of seven counts in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act and the Criminal Procedure Act.

They were apprehended early this year during February at a warehouse in Killarney Gardens during a police operation where abalone with a combined total value of R9 million were confiscated.

We will stop at nothing to break the back of abalone smuggling in this province.