Cape Town - The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) has arrested three suspects for the possession of platinum.
According to the Hawks’ Western Cape spokesperson Zinzi Hani, the three men aged between 22 and 38 were arrested on Tuesday in Cape Town.
The arrests followed an intelligence-driven operation between the Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation team based in Bellville and police in Mfuleni.
“The suspects were arrested in Goodwood after they were caught with an object suspected to be platinum weighing two kilograms,” Hani said.
“The platinum has an estimated street value of R750 000.”
The suspects have been detained and are being charged with the possession of presumed stolen property and contravention of the Precious Metal Act.
They are expected to make their first appearance at the Goodwood magistrate’s court on Thursday.
In an unrelated incident, a Hawks employee based in Bellville, Phelisa Lande, 45, is expected back in the Bellville magistrate’s court on September 6 on a charge of fraud.
Lande was released on R1 000 bail after she was arrested for falsifying her qualifications.
“In October 2021 there was a post advertised for a security official in the Hawks offices in Bellville,” Hani said.
“When she applied for the said position, the accused allegedly submitted a fraudulent matric certificate, which was one of the requirements for the post.
“As a result, the accused was appointed as a security official in Bellville, Western Cape office where she occupied the post on April 1, 2022.”
The matter was postponed for Lande to bring a legal representative on record.
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