Five foreign nationals arrested for suspected illegal mining made a brief appearance in the Springs Regional Court on Monday (March 30).
The men, aged between 20 and 32, were recently arrested near the Gugulethu Informal Settlement where one unlicenced firearm and seven live rounds of ammunition were confiscated.
It is suspected the men are involved in illegal mining and related faction-fighting in the area.
It was during a routine morning patrol that EMPD Tracing Unit members noticed a suspicious-looking Toyota Corolla with five male occupants.
EMPD spokesman Wilfred Kgasago says the members stopped the vehicle, and upon searching it and its occupants, found an unlicenced 9mm Norinco pistol on one of the men.
This man faces a charge of being in possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Without proof of passports or any other legal documentation, the other four foreigners were taken in on suspicion of being in the country illegally.
The suspect who allegedly had the gun in his possession was denied bail during his court appearance on Monday, and will appear in court again on Tuesday (April 7).
The other four suspects remain in custody in the Springs police cells.
Spokesman for the Springs police, Captain Johannes Ramphora, says these suspects will be removed by the Department of Home Affairs and taken to the Lindela Repatriation Centre, in Krugersdorp, from where they will be deported.
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