About 12 suspected illegal miners were arrested on Thursday, 15 August 2024, during the “Vala Umgodi” operation in Bleskop near Rustenburg.
The North West Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, said the accused appeared in the Rustenburg Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 19 August 2024, for possession of copper cables and contravention of the Immigration Act, 2002.
He said the accused include five Zimbabweans and seven Mozambicans.
During the arrest, the police seized illegal mining equipment that included five generators, water pump, five jack hammers, garden spades, pound hammers and a battery.
Picture of items seized, supplied.