Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
With reference to his reply to question 6 of 3 October 2025:
- Following the scheduled completion of the licence plate recognition (LPR) camera network in the Matzikama landscape and along the N7 in December 2025, (a) what has been the measurable impact of this technology on the number of (i) suspicious vehicles intercepted and (ii) arrests made in these hotspots in (aa) January 2026 and (bb) February 2026 and (b) how many additional law enforcement or biodiversity officers have been deployed in the Matzikama or Namaqualand area since October 2025;
- how many indigenous plants have been recorded as illegally harvested or poached in the period October 2025 to February 2026;
- (a) what are the most recent successes achieved by the Interprovincial Task Team (established in January 2025) in disrupting the transit of illegal flora through the Cape Town International Airport and (b) to date, how many investigations have successfully utilised the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) to (i) freeze assets or (ii) identify the international beneficiaries of these syndicates;
- what is the total number of flora-related cases registered in the 2025/26 financial year to date?
(1)(a) (i) The implementation of the expansion of the License Plate Recognition (LPR) camera network in the region was delayed due to the connectivity issues experienced during the installation process and only became fully operational by the end of February 2026. The existing camera network was utilised to track movement of suspect vehicles only. No biodiversity crime related vehicles were intercepted during the requested period, but other vehicles related to drug trafficking and cable theft case interceptions were made in the area through the use of the camera network.
(ii) (aa) No biodiversity crime related arrests were made in January 2026.
(bb) No biodiversity crime related arrests were made in February 2026.
(b) 13 Law enforcement officers from CapeNature and SAPS: (Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit in Malmesbury) were deployed on two occasions. Additional support of 45 officers from other Law Enforcement agencies including Operation Phakisa, Public Order Policing, Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment and Matzikama Municipal Law Enforcement were deployed.
(2) 8 642 plants and 1 064 032 seeds were recorded as illegally harvested or poached between October 2025 and February 2026.
(3) (a) Several investigations linked to the syndicates involved in making use of Cape Town International Airport as a transit hub for illegal flora are ongoing and have not been concluded yet.
(b) (i) No investigations utilised the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) to freeze assets as yet.
(ii) Two investigations successfully utilised the FIC to identify the international beneficiaries of these syndicates.
(4) 14 flora-related cases are registered in the 2025/26 financial year to date.
