At 4am, members were deployed in the area in search of illegal immigrants and mining equipment.
Springs police spokesman, Capt Johannes Ramphora, says the success can be attributed to the cooperation of all the members concerned and the cooperation of the community.
A lot of illegal mining equipment were confiscated and 25 illegal miners were arrested and taken to the police cells.
The illegal miners were charged with the possession of explosives, dagga and ammunition.
About 156.3g of dagga with a street value of R384 was found, as well as live ammunition rounds.
The police also seized shock tubes, detonators, explosive gel, blasting cartridges, electrical detonators, Meganite blasting cartridges and one Uzzi rifle and one magazine.
“Our main focus with this operation was to put a stop to illegal mining and illegal immigrants that are allegedly the cause of violence in the area,” says Ramphora.
Over the past few months there were a lot of complaints from the community about illegal immigrants that have turned the area into a violent place, resulting in a lot of deaths.
The community claims the police are not assisting them and they blocked the roads last week to prevent the police from leaving the area.
During this protest two policemen sustained minor injuries and government property was damaged.
Clifford Shongwe, EMPD spokesman, says with all the recent violence towards the police, the success of this operation will hopefully restore the community’s confidence in the police again.
