A 51-year-old man is expected to appear in a Free State court after he was found with abalone shells worth more than R300,000. The man was arrested in Bayswater in Mangaung on Thursday afternoon after intelligence-led information led police to his home, Free State police spokesperson Lt-Col Thabo Covane said. "A team made up of tactical response team members and detectives arrived at the targeted unit in the identified complex at about 12.45pm." Members tactically gained access to the unit and found the male hiding inside the bedroom. In another bedroom, members found 782 abalone shells spread out on the floor to dry.” Police seized the abalone and arrested him for illegal possession of abalone. Covane said the confiscated abalone weighed an estimated 14kg and had an estimated street value of R310,000.