BRITS POS – BRITS - In fighting illicit mining, the “Vala Umgodi” operation conducted in Hartbeespoortdam and Rustenburg between Friday, 10 and Saturday, 11 May, resulted in the arrest of 23 suspects.
One suspect was nabbed on Friday afternoon in Rustenburg for possession of explosives. The other 22 suspects were arrested in Hartbeespoort for contravention of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No. 13 of 2002). They are all foreign nationals from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi.
“During the operations, the team that comprised of various units of the South African Police Service (SAPS), South African National Defense Force (SANDF) and Brits Immigration Officials, seized the following items that were found abandoned:
3 Supersonic generators, 20 generators, 15 extension cords, 11 Jack hammers, 16 hammers, two pressure pumps, 16 penduka (a makeshift, hand-cranked tumbler made of a used metal gas tank, filled with iron balls that crush the material to a sand-like consistency), one penduka stand, 65 chisels, 2 water pumps, one grinder, 4 grinder blades, 24 spades, 8 pickaxes with handles, 3 knives, 2 gas cylinders, one gas bottle, 28 pieces of steel chains and one hacksaw,” says SAPS North West spokesperson, Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone.
The suspects appeared in the Rustenburg and Brits Magistrates’ Court, for contravention of the Immigration Act, 2002. (Photos: SAPS)
