Police crackdown on illegal mining operations in the West
Operation Vala Umgodi is well underway in various parts of the West Rand to combat illegal mining.
The Gauteng police’s Operation Vala Umgodi, implemented on December 1, is still going strong.
Operation Vala Umgodi is a national operation that aims to combat illegal mining, something that has been a headache, especially on the West Rand stretching from Rand West City to Mogale City and neighbouring Roodepoort.
These integrated illegal mining operations take place weekly rotating in districts of the West Rand, Johannesburg, and Ekurhuleni. Illegal mining is also addressed through Operation Shanela by police stations that are affected by this issue.
Currently, Operation Vala Umgodi is well underway in various parts of the West including Matholesville, Roodepoort and Munsieville with various specialised units such as Public Order Policing, Tactical Response Team, National Intervention Unit and Mobile Operations Unit involved. Joining them are members of the South African National Defence Force, Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, Crime Prevention Wardens, Home Affairs Immigration Services, CPF, and patrollers among others.
According to Brigadier Brenda Muridili, since the beginning of the operation, successes include the arrest of about 600 suspects of which 500 are undocumented persons. The multi-disciplinary forces have so far seized six firearms (three handguns and three rifles), 871 various assorted rounds of ammunition, explosives, gold-bearing material, and thousands of illegal mining equipment such as phendukas, gas cylinders, and generators among other exhibits.
The operation seeks to make the West Rand a safer place and hopes to encourage residents to play a role in crime prevention.
