Perlemoen kingpin, Julian Brown, has been found guilty in the Port Elizabeth High Court of racketeering and contravening the Marine Living Resources Act.
The 32-year old, a high school drop out, faced a string of charges between January 2015 and April 2016.
He was acquitted on charges of defeating the ends of justice and money laundering linked to the purchase of a luxury Ferrari vehicle.
Brown, headed the enterprise alongside Eugene Victor and Brandon Turner, which involved the drying, packing, freezing and processing of abalone for sale outside South Africa.
The operations took place across Nelson Mandela Bay and were operated from Forest Hill, Algoa Park, Westering, Sherwood, Kamma Ridge and North End.
Judge Mandela Makaula yesterday detailed a 144-page judgment that took six hours to deliver.
Brown and Turner applied for their bail to be extended, but Judge Makaula denied their release because of the serious nature of the charges.
Sentencing proceedings will get underway on Wednesday.
-African News Agency
