Pretoria – The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in Limpopo has arrested an additional 17 alleged illegal miners, known as zama-zamas.
Hawks spokesperson in Limpopo, Captain Matimba Maluleke said the arrested people are aged 17 and 65, and they were nabbed at Harman Farm in the Lulekani area.
“Despite having arrested 10 other alleged illegal miners in Lulekani area on 1 March 2022, illegal mining activities continued to take place in the area. The Hawks received information about illegal mining activities and immediately followed it up,” said Maluleke.
“A disruptive operation consisting of the Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation, pubic order police, Mopani District police and Department of Mineral Resources descended on the suspects and caught them in the act.”
The law enforcement team seized at least eight vehicles and mining equipment with the estimated value of R1.8 million.
All the arrested suspects were on Wednesday scheduled to appear in the Lulekani Magistrate’s Court, facing charges related to illegal mining.
“More operations to deal with illegal miners are still going to be conducted,” said Maluleke.
Last year, in an operation aimed at weeding out illegal mining, police arrested three foreign nationals and a South African in Limpopo after they were found with heavy-duty trucks laden with unprocessed chrome.
“The determination of members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Limpopo to eradicate activities of illegal mining led to the arrest of four suspects during disruptive operations that were conducted by members of public order policing along the R37 road in the Apel policing area,” Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said at the time.
IOL