Police clamp down on illegal mining in Rand West

Police officers continue infiltrating and dismantling illegal mining operations in Rand West City and have arrested 31 illegal miners and undocumented persons.

This was during their famous Operation Shanela on October 12 held in different parts of Rand West City including Mohlakeng.

The operation was led by Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela together with Deputy Provincial Commissioner for crime detection Major General Mbuso Khomalo and West Rand District commissioner Major General Fred Kekana.

According to Mawela, they are happy with the work done on the day.

“We are in another part of Gauteng and we’ve established that this is a fully established mining operation. They [illegal miners] have been operating freely here, as the place is away from the public eye and they know that our patrol vehicles won’t normally come and patrol a jungle for no apparent reason.

“We usually concentrate on the build-up areas but through our intelligence, we were informed that this is another area where these people [illegal miners] are operating and we are grateful for what our teams have achieved.

“In another site, we’ve seen that eight of those illegal miners were arrested but the total of arrests made for this operation is 31 and this comprises of undocumented persons and those who are conducting illegal mining,” said Mawela.