Husaini Adam appeared at the Kroonstad regional court on Wednesday after he was nabbed by the Hawks while transporting abalone worth millions of rands.
At the time of his arrest, Adam, 50, was travelling from Free State to Gauteng. He was arrested by the Hawks, members of Welkom serious organised crime investigation team and Kroonstad highway patrol after the police had received a tip-off that he was travelling on the N1 towards Kroonstad.
His truck was stopped at the filling station in Kroonstad and searched.
Christopher Singo, spokesperson for the Hawks, said: “During the search of the Tata truck, police discovered 26 boxes of abalone packed with 8 381 units with the estimated value of more than R3-million. The abalone, the Tata truck including R25 000 cash that was found in possession of the suspects were all seized,” said Singo.
Singo added that after his court appearance, Adam, who pleaded guilty to the crime of transporting the rare species illegally, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment which was suspended for five years. He was also ordered to pay a fine of R30 000.
Meanwhile, the case against his co-accused Fu Lin and Dasham Desram was remanded to December 17. They are currently out on R10 000 bail while another co-accused, Johannes Myberg, is still in custody.
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