FOUR men, two of them Zimbabwean nationals, were arrested in Jansenville yesterday while allegedly attempting to smuggle 12 endangered Karoo cycads to Johannesburg.
The bust comes just a month after four other suspected cycad poachers – all from Gauteng – were caught in Kirkwood with 25 endangered Eastern Cape blue cycads, worth about R280000, on the back of their bakkie.
Members of the Green Scorpions are investigating whether last month's bust is linked to the same syndicate.
The value of the Karoo cycads is believed to be about R200000.
Police spokeswoman Constable Nadia Campher said a bakkie was spotted in the main road of Jansenville by officers patrolling the area.
"They pulled the suspicious vehicle over after seeing the cycad trees loaded on the back," she said.
The four men, aged between 23 and 41, were arrested for violating the Environmental Affairs Act involving threatened or protected species.
Their vehicle was also impounded for being used in the alleged crime.
Green Scorpions special investigations unit member Inspector Etienne Kitching said one of the suspects was well known to authorities and already had two previous convictions related to cycad poaching.
"We suspect these men are linked to the same group who were involved in last month's incident," he said.
"This is a large syndicate who make use of numerous couriers to transport the plants.
"Our preliminary investigation shows these cycads were stolen from a farm in the Steytlerville area."
The four latest suspects are due to appear in the Jansenville Magistrate's Court today. – Gareth Wilson