A TEAM comprising officers from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and ET Rapid Response arrested a man who was allegedly caught gillnetting at night in the Illovo River on May 28.

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A member of the arresting team who asked to remain anonymous said the man was apprehended after 02:00. A total of 309 fish were found in his possession, consisting of 17 different species. About 300m of gill nets were confiscated.

“The majority of these fish were still very small, between 9-14cm long,” said the member.

Information that poachers might be out that night, plundering the river, was received and relayed to all roleplayers, and at around 02:00 the team sprang into action.

“ET Rapid Response’s Eye in the Sky drone was deployed, and it only took a short while before the thermal cameras located the poachers in action. After observing them at work for some time, they were observed beaching under the R102 bridge. The ground team managed to apprehend one suspect,” the member said.

The suspect was handed over to the Amanzimtoti police, and he was charged with poaching. He will appear in court soon.

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