Pretoria - Six suspected illegal mining kingpins who were arrested early this month during a raid at their luxury homes in Khutsong and Carletonville on the West Rand, appeared at the Carletonville Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
One of the accused, Dumisani Moyo, 35, was denied bail.
The state opposed Moyo’s bail application after his citizenship could not be confirmed. The hospital he claimed to have been born at was opened four years after he was born. Moreover, there are no records at the school he claimed to have attended. Therefore, his identity document was suspected to have been obtained fraudulently.
On their last appearance on October 17 the five co-accused abandoned their bail application.
However, on Thursday, four of the accused, Bethuel Ngobeni, 38, Nhlanhla Leon Magwaca, 26, Thabo Prince Sechele, 34, and Moseki Sechele, 28, informed the court through their legal representatives that they intend to apply for bail.
Meanwhile, Khudzai Mashaya still opted to abandon his bail application.
The six are facing seven counts of unlawful dealing in precious metals, three counts of fraud and money laundering.
Ngobeni, Magwaca, Moyo and Mashaya are also facing four counts of being in the country illegally.
“It is alleged the six men ran an operation where they illegally collected precious metals from disused and abandoned mines, processed and sold them. It is further alleged that with the proceeds they got from selling the unlawful metals, they bought properties using falsified names,” said National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.
The matter was postponed to November 23 and 24 for a formal bail application by the four accused.
IOL