Five people were arrested in Kariega after being found in possession of cycads with an estimated value of R1m.
Police spokesperson, Captain Sandra Janse Van Rensburg, said they were arrested on Friday by police who were acting on a tip off.
She said members of the Kariega K9 unit and officers attached to the Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit stopped a grey Hyundai vehicle travelling from Cockscomb to Kariega and seized 72 stolen plants.
“During the processing of the vehicle and the confiscations of the stolen property, two of the suspects managed to free themselves from the handcuffs and ran away," Janse Van Rensburg said.
One suspect was arrested soon after that, while the second person fled into dense bushes and sustained gunshot wounds after being involved in a scuffle with an officer who went in pursuit of the fleeing suspect.
The suspect was treated in hospital, discharged, and taken into custody.
Janse Van Rensburg said the five, aged between 23 and 45, face several charges and were due to appear in court on Monday.
