January 15, 2003, 10:45
An unemployed man from Gauteng, convicted of cycad smuggling in the Eastern Cape, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment or a fine of R5 000.
R135 000 worth of cycads were found in Karel Pieter Ferreira's possession after he was stopped by police in Queenstown last month. He had no permits for them and was arrested. Ferreira alleged that he was transporting the plants for someone else, but refused to divulge their origins.
The cycad, a protected and sought-after species, is frequently smuggled both within South Africa and overseas.
|
