A 41-year-old man, who is a foreign national, has been arrested for illegal mining-related offences and contravening the Immigration Act, as mining equipment valued around R3 million was seized at Giyani in Limpopo.
Provincial spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, Warrant Officer Lethunya Mmuroa said the 41-year-old man was arrested on Thursday.
“The suspect was arrested during an intervention dubbed Operation Green which was conducted by the Polokwane-based Hawks serious organised crime investigation, Giyani-based Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC), State Security Agency and South African Diamond and Precious Medal Regulator (SADPMR). The operation is aimed at dismantling all the scourges of the illegal mining activities in the Giyani and Malamulele areas of the Mopani District,” said Mmuroa.
During the operation, the law enforcement team went to a farm in the area, where they found a man refining gold.
“During the interview, it was established that he is a Mozambican national, and he does not have documents to be in South Africa. He was immediately put under arrest,” said Mmuroa.
Property, including loads of dumps, hosepipes, shovels, built-in leaching tanks, chemical containers, a phenduka, a wheelbarrow, water tanks and refined gold, was seized.
A 'phenduka' is makeshift equipment used by zama zamas to refine and extract minerals.
On Friday, the Mozambican national was expected to appear before the Giyani Magistrate’s Court on charges of contravention of the Immigration Act and contravention of the Precious Medal Act.
Mmuroa said Operation Green is still ongoing across Limpopo.
Meanwhile, provincial head of the Hawks in Limpopo, Major General Gopz Govender has saluted the law enforcement team “for the excellent work done”.
In North West, IOL reported that a high-level delegation including Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu descended on Stilfontein on Friday, where illegal miners have been stranded underground for months.
IOL