A series of highway roadblocks and car chases led to the downfall of one of the country’s biggest suspected abalone syndicates.
|||Cape Town - A series of highway roadblocks and car chases, which saw suspected poachers flee their cars, snitch on one another when they were caught, and make fatal errors, led to the downfall of one of the country’s biggest suspected abalone syndicates.
The alleged leader of the enterprise, Chinese national Ran Wei, has been charged in absentia.
But yesterday three other alleged syndicate leaders, Frank Barends, Christiaan Crous and Donovan Dickson, were among 25 accused in the dock in the Western Cape High Court, where they face 534 charges – including illegal possession of abalone, racketeering and corruption.
The case against the 25, which also includes three police officers, a former police officer, Barend’s wife Josephine and his bookkeeper Sarah Dunsdon, was postponed to November 12.
The enterprise was based in Gansbaai but allegedly operated nationwide. Arrests were effected in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, North West province and the Free State.
The State has revealed in court papers in its asset forfeiture applications how the Hawks infiltrated the syndicate, and chased, caught and questioned suspected abalone poachers, mostly on the N1 and N2 highways, but also on side roads between smaller towns.
The Hawks also convinced some of the arrested members to turn State’s witness, with Alton Dickson, Jan de Waal and Ebraim van Tonder pleading guilty and already sentenced.
Two Hawks officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Lise Potgieter and Warrant Officer André Potgieter, who are not related, emerged as key police officers involved in bringing down the alleged syndicate.
Barends allegedly paid his divers R340/kg of abalone delivered, and drivers between R5 000 and R10 000 per return trip to Johannesburg.
On average, Barends allegedly paid out R374 000 per poaching trip to 16 divers, with each diver earning about R22 000 per trip. The divers, operating in three boats, took out an average of 1.1 tons on each trip, the court papers show.
l De Waal was caught for speeding in Uniondale in the Eastern Cape in July 2005. When police searched his car, they found 850kg of abalone. He told police he drove the car on personal instructions from Barends.
l Barends and a co-accused, Freddie Matthews, drove a white Toyota bakkie, followed by an Isuzu bakkie carrying abalone, from Gansbaai to Cape Town in January 2010. When police signalled them to stop, the bakkie obliged, but the Isuzu sped away. A high-speed chase ensued and police eventually arrested two other co-accused, Walter Delport and Gabriel van Wyk. They found 7 345 unshucked abalone in the Isuzu.
l In August last year, Barends, who was out on R100 000 bail at the time, allegedly ordered the transportation of 11 998 shucked abalone in two bakkies and a Nissan X-trail from Gansbaai to Johannesburg. Four people were also arrested. A month later, Barends was arrested for allegedly ordering the trip.
l When police stopped a maroon Colt near the Strand on May 18 last year, four suspected poachers fled. But two were caught and arrested for possession of 41 bags filled with 3 676 shucked abalone.
l When Alton Dickson drove from Hawston to Gansbaai in September 2009, he was pulled over in a brown Toyota Cruiser, in which police found R110 000 in cash. He told police: “I’m not going down for the money, Frank will have to come and explain.” At the police station, he again told officers the cash belonged to Barends. Soon afterwards, police got a call from Crous claiming the cash was his.
l When police pulled burly former Stanford police officer Jody Behr off on the N2 near Riviersonderend, they seized a red-and-white backpack containing R400 000 in cash. Behr told them the cash belonged to Barends. Behr claimed he withdrew the money from his own account, which he said was a Royal Albatross Investment Account, but the court papers say Lieutenant-Colonel Potgieter was aware that this account belonged to Barends.
l In 2007, police searched a plot in Killarney Isles, Camperdown, near Pietermaritzburg, and confiscated 3 250 shucked and 66 035 dried abalone allegedly belonging to Barends and his enterprise.
l Police found out that Crous rented two smallholdings in the Rustenberg/Marikana area to be used as abalone drying facilities. In May 2006, they searched the smallholdings and confiscated 18 255 dried and 7 834 shucked abalone on one of the plots, and 31 107 dried abalone on the other.
l At various times between 2006 and 2010, police officers at the Beaufort West police station allegedly helped the enterprise members by securing safe passage for vehicles carrying abalone, for which they were allegedly paid by Wei, Barends, Crous and Donovan Dickson.
Other arrests were effected in Brackenfell, Struisbaai, Bredasdorp, Gansbaai, Stanford, Genadendal, Hopefield, Touwsrivier, Darling, Nieuwoudtville and Upington.
henriette.geldenhuys@inl.co.za
Weekend Argus