3 Saudi Arabian Nationals Found Guilty of Illegally Harvesting Flora & Money Laundering, Fined R2 Million

• Three Saudi Arabian nationals have been found guilty of illegally harvesting flora and money laundering by a South African court
• The trio were caught in possession of over 1.6 million items stuffed in their suitcases
• South Africans have congratulated authorities for sentencing the Saudi nationals and called for other areas to be investigated

CAPE TOWN - Three Saudi Arabian nationals found themselves on the wrong side of the South African law and have been fined R2 million for their illegal activities.

Abdulnaser Mohammed Althenaian, Mohand Abulnaser Althenaian and Bedah Abdulrahman Albedah were found guilty of illegally harvesting a huge quantity of flora without documentation and money laundering.

According to TimesLIVE, the trio pleaded to the crimes and admitted that they planned to harvest the flora and export it to a Saudi Arabian farm. They also stated their intention for visiting Mzansi was to harvest the plants.

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They arrived at Cape Town International Airport on 7 October and hired a car. The trio also booked a guest house close to where the flora they wanted was located and hired four locals to help them acquire the flora.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila stated they spent days acquiring the flora and were arrested on the Pofadder/Bitterfontein crossing with more than 1.63 million items.

According to Die Son, the charges against the four locals were dropped because the Saudi nationals admitted that the suitcases with the flora belonged to them and not the locals.

The Saudi nationals were instructed to pay the R2 million fine to the criminal assets recovery account and the Western Cape Nature Conservation Board. They were given a seven-year sentence with five years suspended on the condition they were not caught illegally harvesting flora again.

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The trio was also given 48 hours to leave South Africa after serving their sentence.

South Africas weigh in:

@quesquecestca said:

"Well done, SA. For once, it's nice to read that the rule of law has prevailed. Just because you have money doesn't mean you can just come and destroy other countries' environments. Saudis have bought farms in Kenya and evicted communities just to trophy hunt wildlife."

@Sizabonke said:

"There are so many of them. Why is this not applicable to most of them? They are busy mining in Limpopo."

@Lethabomolaba1 said:

"What a progressive judge... He must do the same to land thieves."

@AmuEmperor said:

"Anyone comes and does whatever they like in SA. The only people who can't are South Africans themselves."

President Ramaphosa announces that South Africa and Saudi Arabia signed 17 memoranda of understanding

Briefly News previously reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was on a state visit to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, returned with gifts.

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The statesman announced that the two countries had signed 17 memoranda of understanding which will serve as door openers for high trade and investment between South Africa and Saudi Arabia.

According to TimesLIVE, President Ramaphosa made these sentiments during his closing speech at the South Africa-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum. The 17 memoranda of understanding will touch various sectors, including mining, renewable energy, security, transport, and agri-aquaculture.

Source: Briefly News