Perlemoen lands up in Franschhoek
2010-04-01
Lise Beyers
THE Franschhoek police made a surprise discovery in the winelands this past week, when they seized thousands of rands worth of perlemoen. The police were informed last Thursday morning that residents of a farm in Groot Drakenstein had seen “suspicious” men in a Pajero, dumping black bags on the farm. Police officers immediately responded to the call and on their arrival they found two men standing by a Pajero. They searched the nearby bushes and discovered 20 black bags full of perlemoen. The men were taken into custody. On further investigation, the police received more information about bags which had also been dumped on the farm. Here they found another 35 black bags full of perlemoen. A spokesperson for Franschhoek police, insp Leon Boonzaaier, said that perlemoen smugglers from Hawston seem to be using the Franschhoek Pass as an alternative route to transport their wares to Cape Town. The perlemoen which were seized were still fresh and most probably illegally harvested on Wednesday evening in the Hawston area. Perlemoen poachers work in networks, and the occupants of the Pajero were obviously warned by another vehicle that it was not safe to proceed. The dumped perlemoen would have been picked up by another vehicle later in the day. Altogether 6034 perlemoen were seized. Smugglers are paid R350 per kilogram for them. Denzil Louw and Eugen Kouter appeared in the Franschhoek Magistrate’s Court on Monday in connection with the perlemoen. Insp Boozaaier thanked the public for their assistance and requested that they continue to contact the Franschhoek police on 021-876-8061 if they notice any suspicious activity in the area.
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