West Village film crew attack: Bail application postponed
'The state asked for postponement for further investigation, and police requested the accused be remanded for an identity parade and to see if the accused could be linked to other crimes. Bail has been abandoned provisionally.'
Furious members of the community and political organisations stood side by side in unity outside the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday morning August 3 where the illegal miners suspected of raping eight women would make another appearance.
Also read: West Village film crew attack: 65 arrested, 32 counts of rape being investigated
News Journalist Natasha Pretorius reported from outside court that those arrested have been charged in terms of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002.
The state asked for postponement for further investigation, and police requested the accused be remanded for an identity parade and to see if the accused could be linked to other crimes. Bail has been abandoned provisionally.”
Whilst the bail application was postponed to August 10, those outside the court made their voices heard. Some of their placards read ‘Listen to our cries’, ‘Stop Rape’, ‘Listen, Act, Protect’, ‘Undocumented migration is a crime’, ‘Less wara wara more ACTION’, and ‘Hands off our women’.
Also read: WATCH: Mass protest at court following West Village attacks: ‘No bail for rapists’
A day before the court appearance on Tuesday August 2, a joint multi-disciplinary operation led by the Hawks resulted in what national police call ‘a resounding success’ that saw 46 suspects being arrested and one fatally wounded. The suspects include foreign nationals from neighbouring countries, and their status in the country is now a subject of an ongoing investigation.
The search-and-seizure operation which was attended by the Minister of Police Bheki Cele accompanied by Gauteng Provincial Police commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela; Hawks Gauteng Provincial Head, Major General Ebrahim Kadwa; and West Rand District Police commissioner, Major General Kekana, was carried out simultaneously at eight premises in Krugersdorp and Randfontein.
Also read: Another 40 illegal miners arrested on West Rand: Bheki Cele joined operations
Furthermore 700 tons of gold-bearing material surpassing R2,5 million was found in five of the illegal plants uncovered, and 20 cell phones were seized for further investigation.
Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase said in a statement, “The joint operation is an ongoing effort to curtail illegal mining in Gauteng Province”.
Also read: Illegal miner killed during police sting operation
Those involved in the operation included the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation team in the West Rand together with the South African Police Service (SAPS) Airwing, K9 unit, Crime Intelligence, Local Criminal Record Centre, Forensic Science Laboratory, Gauteng Traffic Saturation Unit, G4S and Fidelity Security Helicopters, Sibanye-Stillwater Protection Services and Eskom officials.
