Traffic police catch paua poachers

File photo / Martin Sykes

Traffic police on the look out for drunk drivers made a catch of a different kind late last night - three paua poachers.

A highway patrol constable stopped a suspicious vehicle in Upper Hutt about 11pm only to find 1275 paua inside the car, acting road policing manager Senior Sergeant Doug Rowan said.

The amateur limit is 10 paua of each species per person.

Mr Rowan said the men, who were returning to Lower Hutt after a dive off the Wairarapa coast, were detained under the Fisheries Act, with the paua, their car and diving gear confiscated.

- NZPA