RUSTENBURG HERALD - RUSTENBURG - A multi-disciplinary Vala Umgodi team apprehended no less than 21 suspected illegal miners in the Bojanala Platinum District on Wednesday, 25 and Thursday, 26 September, for contravention of section (49) (1) (a) of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No. 13 of 2002).
The suspects, aged between 20 and 56, were nabbed in Tlhatlaganyane, Witrandjie, and Mooinooi.
These include ten Lesotho nationals, five Mozambicans, three Malawians, one Ethiopian, and one Zimbabwean foreign nationals as well as a South African. During the operations, the team seized illegal mining equipment such as generators, jack hammers, spades, drills, crowbars, and other tools. The suspects were expected to appear before the Brits and Mogwase Magistrates’ Courts, respectively, on Monday, 30 September 2024. The Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, commended the Vala Umgodi team for the sterling job they do in the fight against illicit mining in the province.
