[imagesource: Supplied to Daily Maverick]

Did you notice any green and yellow choppers cruising the skies around Table Mountain over the weekend?

I noticed that they seemed to be keeping a close eye on the mountainside on Saturday and for good reason.

The Sea, Air, and Mountain (SEAM) Special Operations Ranger Team and South African National Parks (SANParks) pilots located an abalone poaching site.

Patrolling the Table Mountain National Park, the SEAM Team and SANParks pilots managed to recover diving gear and other equipment used in the illegal activity at the Cape of Good Hope section:

Image: SANParks

Here’s Lauren Howard-Clayton, SANParks regional communications manager, via The Daily Maverick, which reported on Monday that no suspects had been arrested:

“It isn’t possible to say with absolute certainty that these were poachers operating at that particular camp, as the marine-protected area around the Cape of Good Hope section covers the entire coastline,” said Howard-Clayton.

“By and large, it was successful due to area coverage, visibility and man-hours spent in proactive patrols. However, our effectiveness was impacted by the wind conditions over the weekend,” added Howard-Clayton.

IOL reported later that adding aerial surveillance helped to further support visitor safety and environmental crime prevention operations across the park:

“The advantage of aerial support is that it allows us to access remote sections of the park that would otherwise require extended foot patrols to reach. The camp that was identified was spotted during a coastal patrol in poaching hot spot areas of the park. We were able to land the chopper and investigate further,” Clayton said.

Image: Supplied to Daily Maverick

Police spokesperson Andrè Traut has now confirmed that two suspects were apprehended.

Two suspects, aged 27 and 37, were arrested for the abalone poaching:

“En-route to the location, a pick-up vehicle fled the scene, leaving two suspects behind who were later apprehended following a hot pursuit. While investigating the scene, a large amount of abalone was seized, resulting in a case being lodged against the suspects,” Clayton said.

The two suspects were taken to Simon’s Town Police Station.

You can expect to see more choppers and the like patrolling hotspots as SEAM and SANParks operators aim to provide increased terrestrial and marine protected area coverage.

[sources:dailymaverick&iol]