According to News24, 50-year-old Husaini Adam appeared in the Kroonstad Regional Court on Wednesday, following his arrest by the Hawks in July.
Adam pleaded guilty to the possession of more than R3 million worth of abalone, a sea creature that is illegal to take from the ocean due to its declining population.
He was discovered after the police received a tip-off that someone was transporting abalone from the Free State to Gauteng.
Free State Hawks spokesperson Captain Christopher Singo said that officers had followed the truck and stopped it at a filling station in Kroonstad.
When they searched the truck, they discovered 26 boxes of abalone with an estimated value of more than R3 million, along with R25 000 in cash, which were both seized by the officers.
The court sentenced Adam to 10 years in prison, or a R60 000 fine. Half the fine or sentence was suspended for five years.
Johannes Myberg (40), Fu Lin (37) and Dasham Desram (35) were also accused, but their cases have been postponed to 17 December.
Lin and Desram are now out on R10 000 bail, and Myberg is still in custody.
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Picture: SAPS