Members of the West Rand police, together with other role players, clamped down on illegal mining activity, in particular, in an O Kae Molao operation on 25 March.
The police, led by the acting district commissioner, Brigadier Ngwako Mashao, joined forces with the Gauteng and Merafong traffic police, the home affairs, correctional services and community safety departments, Harmony Gold’s mine security, Gladiator Community Protection and Community Policing Forum (CPF) patrollers. According to West Rand police’s spokesperson, Sgt Linkie Lefakane, the operation lasted from 06:00 to 14:00. In one of the day’s big successes, Gladiator personnel spotted a suspicious charcoal-coloured single-cab Toyota Hilux next to a house at Skoonplaas at Blyvoor at around midday.
“The bakkie was half-hidden and no one spotted it at first,” says Mr Pottie Potgieter of Gladiator. However, when they checked the vehicle’s registration, they saw that the number belonged to a gold double-cab. They went up to the bakkie and saw a bag of money on the driver’s seat. A bigger bag of money was later discovered in the vehicle. Two revolvers, one with the serial number filed off, and various ammunition for different calibre firearms were also found in the bakkie. “
The other revolver is recorded as belonging to a man who died in 2012,” says Potgieter. A 31-year-old man, suspected to be the bakkie owner and likely an important member of the local illegal mining network, later handed himself over to the police. He was arrested on the spot and later charged with the possession of suspected stolen property, possession of illegal firearms and ammunition and the possession of precious metal.
During the operation, a suspect was also arrested for attempted murder and two for house robbery. Four suspects were arrested for rape, 12 for robbery and 34 for assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH). A person was apprehended for possessing suspected stolen property, two for illegal mining, nine for rape and one for sexual assault. Two arrests were for housebreaking and theft, 12 for assault, three for fraud, three for malicious damage to property and one for intimidation.
Other arrests were for crimes like dealing in dagga, possessing dagga or drugs, drunken driving, dealing in liquor without a licence, contravening a protection order and domestic assault. A total of 18 undocumented immigrants were arrested, six unlicensed liquor outlets closed and 176 litres of liquor confiscated.
Sixty-five traffic fines to the value of R64,800 were also issued. “All the arrested suspects are expected to appear before their respective magistrate courts soon,” said Lefakane.
