Gordon’s Bay police arrested two suspects on Heritage Day (Wednesday 24 September) following a high-speed abalone chase that ended with both men behind bars.
According to a police report, officers were on patrol when they received an anonymous tip-off that a silver Volkswagen Polo loaded with abalone was entering the Gordon’s Bay precinct. The officers identified and pulled the vehicle over in Faure Marine Drive and attempted to search the vehicle with the two men inside.
One of the officers spotted an open blue bag containing abalone on the back seat and tried to open the passenger door behind the driver.
This resulted in the driver of the Polo speeding off, causing a chase to ensue between the alleged abalone poachers and the police that proceeded into Strand, a pursuit that began in Gordon’s Bay.
The chase came to a halt when the driver of the Polo crashed into a sand bank on the corner of Fink Street and Fisant Road in Broadlands Park.
The two suspects, aged 23 and 24, were arrested for negligent driving and possession of abalone. Officers confiscated the blue bag that contained 1 091 units, with an estimated street value of R700 000.
The two suspects appeared briefly in Strand Magistrates’ Court on Friday (26 September).
This is the second abalone-related pursuit from Gordon’s Bay that ended in a bust after a high-speed chase this year. In July, two suspects were arrested for abalone possession following a collision with a 63-year-old Gordon’s Bay resident.
The collision resulted in the resident suffering whiplash, severely bruised ribs and a bruised knee (“Clerk recalls harrowing crash in high-speed abalone chase“, DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette, 16 July).
In the July incident, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment confirmed 525 units of abalone weighing 71,3 kg and valued at R130 716, were confiscated.
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