The truck driver, Brighton Mutandani, was arrested last
Thursday by the neighbouring country’s elite cops, the Hawks.
He has since appeared in the Praktiseer Regional Court on
charges of allegedly transporting chrome without a permit and contravening the
Immigration Act. Hawks spokesperson for Limpopo, Captain Matimba Maluleke said
the suspect was arrested during a crackdown on illegal mining activities in the
province.
“As the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation
continues to fight the scourge of illegal mining in the province, a sting joint
operation between the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation and Crime
Intelligence was conducted last week. During the operation, a suspicious tipper
truck was spotted driving in the area and it was stopped and searched,” he
said.
“The truck was found fully loaded with chrome that the
driver failed to produce a permit for and he was immediately arrested. Further
investigations revealed that the driver did not have legal documents allowing
him to be in the country.”
Capt Maluleke said the chrome and the truck were seized. He
said Mutandani was remanded in custody to Friday for bail application.
Hawks provincial head for Limpopo, Major General Gopz
Govender said: “We look forward to conducting more operations to deal with the
illegal mining problem and our presence will be felt.”
South African police recently tightened screws on illegal
miners following the death of eight panners including four Zimbabweans, three
Mozambican and a South African in the Burgersfort area in Limpopo Province.
The illegal miners died after suffocating when the mine
shaft filled up with rainy water resulting in the walls collapsing.
Police have since opened an inquest following the tragic
incident. The mishap occurred in the Ga-Moroga Village where the suspected
illegal miners had been digging chrome before the walls of the shaft gave in
during heavy rains.
Illegal chrome mining activities are rife in areas along
the R37 road in Sekhukhune District and police have arrested several illegal
miners and confiscated mining equipment.
Zimbabweans were also among the 21 suspected illegal miners
whose bodies were discovered in a mineshaft in Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South
Africa in November last year after they were trapped.
In September 2021, South African emergency workers
retrieved 11 bodies of Zimbabweans who died after a generator they were using
in a disused underground mine exploded in Benoni, some 35km outside
Johannesburg.
The group which included 15 people, among them Zimbabweans
and Mozambicans, entered the mine on August 27 of the same year and they were
using the generator for lighting and drilling. Chronicle
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