Seven people arrested in Port Elizabeth, in a major crackdown on a global perlemoen syndicate, appeared in the St Albans prison court on Wednesday.
The suspects, aged between 19-53, were arrested during a early morning raid executed by SAPS specialised forces on Tuesday.
Hawks spokesperson, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudz, said the arrests came after an extended investigation targeting an international abalone syndicate
"The joint operation was executed by SAPS specialised forces and swooped on seven addresses simultaneously. The suspected abalone-smuggling syndicate, which has links in China, has been a subject of intense investigations,” he said.
Mulauzi also told Algoa Fm News that the syndidate was responsible for trafficking 500 million rand worth of abalone out on the country, operating mainly in the Eastern Cape.
The province's Hawks spokesperson, Captain Anelisa Feni, also revealed to Algoafm News that one of suspects was an alleged kingpin, Morne' Blignaut.
Feni said only seven suspects appeared in court today however two more suspects will appear tomorrow.
She said there were two more suspects linked to the case already in custody.
Two more suspects will appear in court tomorrow as well. There are two suspects who are linked to these cases but they are already in custody and they will also appear for this case at a later stage. A further arrest is imminent" she said.
The case against the seven suspects was postponed until next week Thursday for formal bail application.
