A 38-year-old man is to appear in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court soon after police on Wednesday confiscated 17 fridges filled with the shellfish delicacy perlemoen (abalone). The man would face charges of dealing in perlemoen without a permit, police representative Inspector Amanda Roestoff said. Roestoff said Inspector Mkhacani Maluleke was investigating a housebreaking complaint in the area when he became suspicious of the behaviour of two men in what appeared to be an abandoned premises. One of the men fled in a white Isuzu bakkie, but Maluleke arrested the other man, who is of Chinese extraction. According to Roestoff Maluleke investigated after questioning the man and not believing his claim to be mowing the lawn. A second vehicle on the premises had a strong smell of fish, and Maluleke then called for assistance. Fridges full of perlemoen were then discovered in the garage and kitchen and in an adjoining premises which seemed to have been used for drying the shellfish. Perlemoen is apparently valued at around R450 per kilogram. – Sapa