Members of the Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation, joined by the illegal mining task team, national intervention unit and Bidvest Protea Coin security in Rustenburg have arrested five alleged illegal mining kingpins.
The police operation, which was a culmination of the ongoing investigations into illegal mining in the area, was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday.
According to police spokesperson, Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso, the accused are aged between 33 and 72. During the arrest, the Hawks also seized two vehicles suspected to have been stolen.
“The suspects will appear before Mogwase magistrate’s court on Thursday, where they will be facing varied charges including illegal mining, public violence, defeating the ends of justice and malicious damage to property,” said Rikhotso.
The latest raid was a follow up of a takedown operation that took place on April 7.
During the operation in April, Samuel Saki Makhoti and Andries Sekgobela were arrested and appeared at the Mogwase magistrate’s court on April 11, where they were each released on R3 000 bail.
They are due back in court on Thursday next week.
This week’s operation, which took place at a Rustenburg mine, led to the seizure of illegally mined chrome worth over R2-million and equipment – vehicles and excavators – worth about R100-million.
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