Police have made a breakthrough in their investigation into one of the biggest illegal perlemoen busts in the Eastern Cape after a Chinese man handed himself over on Sunday night.
”The man walked into the Tabega Park police station and handed himself over,” Port Elizabeth police spokesperson André Beetge said on Monday.
About 1,5 tons of perlemoen with a street value of R1,8-million was confiscated during a raid on a smallholding near Rocklands in Port Elizabeth on Friday. Three people were arrested during the raid.
Beetge said the police found 21 958 perlemoen at the factory.
”This was a major breakthrough into illegal perlemoen smuggling in the Port Elizabeth area.”
Beetge said the raid came after the organised crime unit followed members of a syndicate for six months.
He said it was the first time police had found a ”perlemoen factory” or ”processing facility” where illegal perlemoen was being processed for export.
Equipment worth about R100 000 was confiscated at the factory. Equipment seized included gas burners, scales, pots, drying racks and refrigerators.
The four suspects, three men and a woman, will appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Monday. — Sapa