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Police in Mpumalanga have nabbed 11 suspected illegal miners, one of them a correctional services department official. The zama-zamas were cornered on a farm in Barberton outside of Mbombela on Thursday.
According to Colonel Donald Mdhluli, the provincial police spokesperson, the arrests were made after the farm owner opened a case of trespassing with the police. The farm owner had complained to the police that there were people illegally mining on his farm without his consent.
READ: A losing battle against zama-zamas
Mdhluli said:
Mdhluli said the bakkie was stopped and searched by the police who found suspected illegal mining equipment, including gold-bearing materials.
He said police had no option but to apprehend the four suspects, aged between 33 and 46, adding that other than the correctional services official, there were two other South Africans, as well as a Zimbabwean national.
Mdhluli said:
He said police were collaborating with the department of home affairs officials regarding the seven suspects who failed to produce valid documents allowing them to be in the country.
READ: Legal miners and syndicates assist zama-zamas in illegal mining operations
Mdhluli said as a result, an additional charge of contravention of the Immigration Act was added when they appeared in the Barberton Magistrates' Court on Friday.
SA Police Services provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela, welcomed the arrests and the recovery of the illegal mining equipment.
Vala Umgodi, which means close the pit in isiZulu, is an integrated multi-disciplinary disruptive operation to rid the mining areas of the scourge of illegal mining, which has been blamed for fueling violent crimes.
The operation has yielded some positive results across the country, with an illegal mining operation shut down in the Sabie area of Mpumalanga on Tuesday.
This was after a vehicle was spotted, stopped and searched. Suspected illegal mining equipment, including two generators and a jackhammer, were seized.
A Zimbabwean national aged 34 allegedly attempted to bribe his way out and when this failed, he reportedly assaulted a police officer and tried to escape. He was later arrested.
