Bellville police raided a La Rochelle home last Friday morning and arrested six Chinese men after finding abalone and drugs.
According to Bellville police spokeswoman Sergeant Anele Siwisa-Dambuza, there had been reports of suspicious activity at 41 Lausanne Crescent. The six suspects, aged 30 to 40, had tried to run away when police arrived, she said.
“After initial entry to the house was refused, police members lifted the gate from its rails to gain access to the property. The six men then locked the house and attempted to run away on foot. However, they were caught in Aandblom Street – just under a 1km away from the home – and were taken back.”
Officers had found 15 units of frozen abalone and eight bags of cocaine, along with abalone-processing gear, such as heaters, fans and pots, she said.
In a separate incident, five men robbed the Clicks store in Wellington Street, Durbanville of thousands of rand worth of perfume last Thursday night.
The store had closed and security were on duty when the robbers struck at 7:20pm.
“One of the suspects held the security guard at gunpoint while another used a sledgehammer to break the doors of the store,” said Durbanville police spokesman Captain Marchell Rhode. “The rest of the suspects then joined to raid the perfume cabinets, taking goods to the value of R18 000 while they also stole two cellphones from the security guard.”
The robbers left in a white Toyota Hilux bakkie and are still at large. No injuries were reported.