Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu has announced that the police are investigating the involvement of community members and NGOs in illegal mining activities during Operation Vala Umgodi in Stilfontein, North West.
Mchunu explained that police suspect these groups may consist of several interconnected structures.
He said their involvement raises questions because those who have been rescued from the underground mining sites often mention that they have been trapped below the ground for months.
Missing link in the chain are transporters
This raised the question of who is responsible for transporting the minerals to the surface.
“They are not the movers; they are moved. Their role is to stay there because they say they have been underground for four or six months without coming up. So, it’s clear that some of the people who have been claiming to be from the community and offering aid are most likely part of the second layer. receiving minerals from those underground. We are investigating those people,” Mchunu said.
“Even those who receive from the underground workers are local faces. This means they are also not the movers — they are moved. They take the minerals from those underground and pass them on to the real kingpins, who may be either in the country or outside. There could be three or four layers of people, including those who refine the minerals. We have some clues,” he added.
No person left underground
Mchunu also emphasised that police are confident that there was no person left undiscovered underground.
He said they had initially calculated that the process would take 16 days. Although they only mentioned 10 to the public. However, it only took two days.
