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Johannesburg - A 100kg consignment of abalone disguised as frozen fish was seized at the OR Tambo International Airport, leading to the arrest of a man trying to collect it on Saturday.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said the 31-year-old suspect was taken into custody for questioning.
“During one of the many routine checks conducted by a police cargo team, a cargo whose true contents had been falsified as frozen fish was found, and was without any permits,” he said.
“Upon further probing the police found that the cargo, which had just arrived from the Cape Town International Airport, was actually abalone. The estimated worth of the abalone is R100 000.”
Naidoo said the personal details of the suspect would be withheld for the time being as the West Rand Organised Crime Unit are trying to ascertain whether or not the man is the owner of the consignment or merely employed by someone else.
“Depending on the outcome of the questioning process, this man may be charged or released.”
The National Commissioner of Police, General Riah Phiyega, noted the success and extolled the police for their continuous hard work in seeing that the airport is not used for “nefarious purposes”.
This comes after 143kgs of cocaine was seized when a drug mule was arrested on an incoming flight.
