Man arrested for transporting 112 threatened cycad plants

A man has been arrested after being found travelling with 19 species of illegal cycads on the N1 in Limpopo.

The 66-year-old suspect was transporting specimens of a listed, threatened or protected species without a permit at Kranskop Toll Plaza, Modimolle policing area, on Monday.

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Illegal cycads

Police revealed the man was driving a white Volkswagen Transporter Kombi with a trailer.

Both had Gauteng registration plates.

A total of 112 cycads from 19 species were discovered.

“An undisclosed amount of money, including foreign currency, was found in the vehicle,” Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said.

“The suspect was arrested and detained at Modimolle Police Station.”

He will appear before Modimolle Magistrate’s Court soon.

He faces charges of transporting specimens of a listed, threatened or protected species without a permit.

Police investigations are still ongoing.

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Protected plants worth R3,5m recovered from poachers

In February, police arrested three men believed to be poachers who were in possession of protected plants worth R3,5m in the Northern Cape.

Nieuwoudtville Police followed up on information received to make the arrests near the Oorlogskloof Nature Reserve.

The reserve is celebrated for its arid, wild and beautiful landscape.

“The Nieuwoudtville SAPS Visible Policing, Nieuwoudtville Detectives and the Oorlogskloof Nature Conservation personnel caught the suspects red-handed with 518 Clivia Mirabilis plants and 29 Clivia Mirabilis seeds with a street value of R3,506,000 in Nieuwoudtville,” Police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Sergio Kock said.

Four suspects nabbed for possession of a pangolin

In June, four suspects were apprehended for being in possession of pangolin, an endangered species, in Vryburg, North West.

“It is alleged that the suspects were headed to Mahikeng to meet a buyer for a pangolin that they were selling for R60 000, when they were stopped by members of the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation and members of Saps Tactical Response Team along Vryburg Road,” Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso said in a statement.