Five men were arrested and 435 units of abalone were seized during a South African Police Service (SAPS) operation in Strandfontein in Cape Town on Friday, 5 October 2019. Photo: SAPS
Children are bribed with clothes and drugs to illegally transport abalone.
Five men were arrested and 435 units of abalone were seized during a South African Police Service (SAPS) operation in Strandfontein in Cape Town on Friday, 5 October 2019. Photo: SAPS
The Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, welcomed the Western Cape Police Ombudsman’s 2018/19 Annual Report. The report also covered the policing in the Overstrand region, in particular, the state of abalone poaching.
The reports were delivered in the Provincial Standing Committee on Community Safety on Thursday, 17 October 2019, by the Western Cape Police Ombudsman, JJ Brand.
The reports came about after Brand sent a “Complaint of Poor Response” to Fritz on 30 July 2019. The ombudsman cited the Gansbaai, Kleinmond, Hermanus, and Stanford (the Overberg cluster) South African Police Service (SAPS) stations in his complaint.
The annual report was presented at the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. The report found that “police inefficiencies in the areas” were “substantiated.”
Abalone poaching and its link to organised crime, was one of the concerns highlighted by the communities. Police were also said to have failed to control the harbour.
The poaching was noted as a big concern in the area. The Gansbaai community noted how poachers brought crimiminal aspects with them.
In the report, residents stated how their “young children” were bribed with “high fashion clothes” and “drugs to become “runners” for the poachers. Runners were responsible for carrying the abalone.
The children ended up dropping out of school and families were torn apart by the criminal elements. Some of the children who were affected ended up leaving their homes and getting involved in drugs abuse.
Poachers were said to be making beaches unsafe for leisurely enjoyment, aswell.
Hermanus, Kleinmond, Stanford, residents also noted that the SAPS were failing to act on abalone poachers. The report revealed that the police made no reference to them addressing the abalone poaching or marine-related crimes in the Overstrand area.
SAPS were asked if they didn’t have a duty to deal with abalone poaching in the area but they “failed to adhere to the directive.” It was decided that a “review of legislation concerning SAPS powers on abalone poaching” would be done.
It was discovered that the abalone poaching in the Overstrand area was run by syndicates or organised criminal networks. The report revealed that poaching in the Western Cape was a problem because responsible groups failed to unite to fight it.
Abalone was said to be “the most threatened and most widely smuggled marine living sources,” alongside West Coast rock lobster. Illegal abalone harvesting has led to a loss of R628 million per year.
The chief prosecutor for the area concluded that investigators need to prioritise crimes that affect communities in the worst way. The report noted that the SAPS did, indeed, have a shortage of resources to do their work accordingly.
One of the recommendations given with regard to the poaching was that the SAPS’ Organised Crime Unit investigate the issue.