A 36-year-old man was arrested in Rondevlei Park for being in possession of abalone with an estimated street value of R2 million.
The man was apprehended in Chelsea Street on Monday August 22.
Acting swiftly on a tip-off, members of Lentegeur SAPS’ Crime Prevention Unit went to the Rondevlei Park house at 10.15pm.
Upon searching the house, the large quantity of abalone was discovered. Police confiscated the abalone and arrested the Belhar man for the illegal possession of abalone. The suspect is due to appear in the Mitchell’s Plain Magistrate’s Court soon on a charge of illegal possession of abalone.
Mitchell’s Plain SAPS spokesperson, Captain Ian Williams, said members of the Department of Marine and Coastal Management, SAPS Forensic Science, as well as the Local Criminal Record Centre and other police members also attended the crime scene.
Commending the members for a job well done, Mitchell’s Plain cluster commander Major-General Gregory Goss said the police will continue clamping down on crime and perpetrators of crime. “Police will maintain their zero tolerance approach in the combating and investigation of crime,” he said.
* During a special Women’s Month operation in Mitchell’s Plain on Thursday August 25, 267 vehicles were stopped and fines to the value of R27 500 were issued.
A 56-year-old man was arrested for illegally dealing in liquor, a 29-year-old man for possession of dagga, a 22-year-old man for possession of an unlicensed firearm and a 25-year-old man for armed robbery. Seventeen people were also stopped and searched.
On the same day, Mitchell’s Plain SAPS members on patrol pursued three men, catching one of them with a 9mm Z88 pistol, which had the serial number scratched off, with 16 live rounds of ammunition. He was arrested and will appear in the Mitchell’s Plain Magistrate’s Court soon. Pamphlets with information on domestic violence and gangs were also distributed during the special operation.
* A 25-year-old man was arrested in Hermes Road, Mandalay, at 2pm on Saturday August 27, for being in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Lentegeur police responded to a tip-off from the community of an illegal firearm.
The police approached the man in the road, searched him and confiscated a 9mm Star pistol, a magazine and 9mm live ammunition. At the same time, members of Lentegeur SAPS spotted another man acting suspiciously just further down the road. They searched the man and found an imitation 9mm pistol on him.
Captain Williams said the pistol looked, felt and has the weight of a real firearm. The 27-year-old man was then arrested for possession of an imitation firearm.
The two suspects will appearance in the Mitchell’s Plain Magistrate’s Court soon on charges relating to the Firearms Control Act. The police investigation continues.
* Mitchell’s Plain police has issued a warning to residents that municipal bins will be confiscated from anyone found not using them for their intended purpose, which is the collection of residential refuse.
It is a contravention of the municipal by-law to use the wheelie bins to transport goods and to remove it from the property to which it has been assigned.
People found in possession of these bins can be charged for possession of stolen property. A fine can also be issued to the perpetrator by law enforcement officials.