Markets in everything
The stolen abalone, an endangered and protected species, would have been eventually sold to predominantly Chinese buyers for around £225 a kilo. And that’s the problem: the enormous value of the delicacy has brought the Chinese Triad gangs to South Africa. In a cash-free transaction, the Triads swap the abalone for the ingredients to make methamphetamine, or ‘tik’.
The Guardian reports on the growing drugs crisis in Cape Town.
Subscribe