About 39 undocumented men were nabbed at a construction site at what is referred to as “De Beers and the Samaria” informal settlement, on the 26th and 27th May 2025.
The men were arrested for illegal mining related charges. They are largely undocumented foreigners from Mozambique and Lesotho, between the ages of 18 and 46 years old.
They men are expected to appear in the Kimberley court soon.
Police said they also arrested five persons (3 males and 2 females) for possession of drugs in Colville, Samaria informal settlement and Homelite.
During random Vehicle Check Points conducted in the greater Kimberley area, 25 traffic fines and J534’s were issued amounting to R15 250-00, while 663 persons and 284 vehicles were stopped and searched.
The operations were executed by a joint effort from the SAPS Provincial components, Frances Baard District personnel, specialised units, Kimberley and surrounding police stations within the district, officials from the Department of Home Affairs, Traffic Department and the Vala Umgodi team.
The multi-disciplinary high-density operations were executed in two phases over two days, targeting the Samaria and Greenpoint informal settlements in the mining areas and construction sites.
Koliswa Otola, Lieutenant- General of the police in that area, said this was the second operation focusing on illicit mining activities and the continuation of last week’s operations in the Namakwa District.
Picture:Supplied