Case against six alleged illegal mining kingpins postponed

The case against the six alleged illegal mining kingpins who were arrested on Tuesday in the West Rand, Johannesburg, has been postponed to 19 October 2022, for formal bail application.

Bethuel Ngobeni, Dumisa Moyo, Nhlanhla Magwaca, Moseki Sechele, Thabo Sechele and Khudzai Mashaya made their first appearance at the Oberholzer Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

They are facing charges of four counts fraud, possession of ammunition, possession of drugs, money laundering contravention of the Immigration Act and the contravention of the Precious Metals Act.

Hawks spokesperson, Colonel Katlego Mogale said while four of the accused citizenships are yet to be confirmed, the other two are South Africans.

The six will remain in custody awaiting their formal bail application.

The Hawks made an administrative mistake and charged one of the suspects twice, reporting there were seven accused on Tuesday, instead of six. This was due to one of the suspects also being charged with possession of drugs.

READ MORE: [UPDATE] Seven suspected illegal mining kingpins arrested in the West Rand

The arrest of the alleged illegal mining kingpins

The suspects, aged between 35 and 60, were pounced on by the police during operation Gillette at Carletonville and Khutsong.

The operation included the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation, Head Office’s Forensic, Crime Intelligence and Explosives Unit, Gaubullet and Department of Home Affairs.

“The execution of project “Gillette” resulted in six suspects being arrested. This was an ongoing project which began in 2018 as an inquiry, addressing six targets higher in the illegal mining activities,” said Mogale.

Investigations saw six transactions worth R500 000 being made, where the suspected kingpins bought gold bearing materials from zama zamas, processed it and sold it to the next level hierarchy.

Luxury vehicles seized

Police also confiscated a fleet of 13 luxury cars, a truck and an unlicensed home-made firearm belonging to the alleged kingpins.

Mogale said they have two other suspects of interest who they are also questioning.

The arrests comes after the scourge of illegal mining activities that saw the gang rape of eight Krugersdorp women in July.

The incident had the country enraged and sparked national pleas for the police to get rid of these syndicates.

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