Chinese nabbed for R2m abalone

A CHINESE man was arrested in Johannesburg yesterday after abalone worth R2-million was found at his house.

Police spokeswoman Pinky Tsinyane said the 34-year-old man had allegedly packaged the abalone in different rooms at his Weltevreden house, west of Johannesburg.

"It seems like he was ready to export the abalone to China. It was nicely wrapped up, and by the look of things, it was ready to be transported," Tsinyane said.

She said more arrests were imminent. "We believe that he was working with other people and we are hopeful of making more arrests soon," she said.

The suspect will appear in the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court soon.

In another case, Pretoria police arrested two Zimbabwean nationals after they broke into a house in Garsfontein. "The police found them busy packing items when they arrived. Two vehicles which had been parked in the garage had also been broken into," said Tsinyane. They will appear in court soon for house breaking.

Also in Pretoria, seven men were arrested in Mamelodi East yesterday after a high- speed chase. The suspects reportedly robbed a van carrying cigarretes in Cullinan.