Ekurhuleni district Vispol commander Allistair Subramanian said police would continue to fight until they can put an end to illegal mining activities.
He spoke to the Boksburg Advertiser on Main Reef Road on July 21, where police destroyed piles of illegal mining equipment seized during operations in Boksburg, Benoni, Daveyton, Putfontein, Germiston and Alberton targeted at zama zamas in Ekurhuleni.
Most of the confiscated items came from Boksburg. This was because of the incident in Angelo on July 5, where at least seven people died and more were hospitalised when a gas cylinder, believed to be used by illegal miners for refining gold, released toxic gas into the atmosphere.
The total weight of the destroyed items, ranging from gas cylinders to wheelbarrows, could not be confirmed.
Subramanian said they destroyed the items because they could not recycle them in the community.
He said police stations that noticed illegal mining activities in their precincts would continue with weekly operations targeted at zama zamas.
“We are not scared. Hence, we recover illegal mining equipment.”
The Advertiser previously reported families of the people who died in the gas leak in Angelo accused police of colluding with the zama zamas in the informal settlement.
Gauteng SAPS Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said, at the time, they were not disputing the reports that there might be police corruption involved.
She appealed to the Angelo community to come forward and name those people.
“They can call 08600 10111 or use the MySAPS App. If your report is not actioned, call the standby duty number for police complaints at the provincial office on 082 444 2000.”
Nevhuhulwi said it was unfair that the community said the police were not doing anything about the crime in the area because they regularly conduct operations targeting illegal mining in Angelo.
“We were previously here with the provincial commissioner and raided illegal mining sites with the resources at our disposal. I would also like to point out that illegal mining cannot be the police’s problem alone. It needs a holistic approach involving other government sectors to work together, and we need the same communities to share information with us.
”Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi reiterated his call for a well-resourced special crime unit to respond to illegal mining gangs’ firepower as if they were in a ‘warzone’ when he revisited the scene in Angelo on June 6.
