The trial of two men accused of plotting to illegally harvest perlemoen from Bird Island will proceed after the Makhanda high court overturned a magistrate’s decision to acquit them on the basis of alleged unlawful entrapment. Judge Jannie Eksteen ruled that the regional court had erred when it found that evidence obtained during an undercover operation — including recorded meetings — was inadmissible. The earlier ruling had led to the discharge of Raymond Taylor and Roland Hudson in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act at the close of the state’s case.
Taylor and Hudson had faced multiple charges, among them contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act and the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. The charges stem from an alleged long-term plan to poach perlemoen from Bird Island — a Marine Protected Area that forms part of the Addo Elephant National Park off the coast of Gqeberha — and to do so through a corrupt scheme involving SA National Parks (SANParks) officials. According to the state, the case began on February 26 2022 when an Addo field ranger received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number.
The sender, identifying himself as “Ray”, said he had obtained the ranger’s number from a mutual acquaintance. A second message followed on March 1, in which Ray suggested they meet to discuss an idea that could work well for them both. The ranger, aware that diving within the protected area was prohibited, reported the approach to his superior, Rob Milne.
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Milne instructed him to play along if contacted again and keep him updated. Communications continued, and on March 24 2022 the ranger met Taylor — identified by Dark Water Ops operative Nicky Erasmus — at the Silver Cloud Spur in Newton Park. The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) monitored the meeting from outside, and the discussion was secretly recorded.
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