A successful operation of illicit mining was conducted to target illegal miners and undocumented persons in Theunissen.
The operation started on 25 May 2023 from 05:00 until 13:00.
The focus was on the following mines: Beatrix, Joel and Oryx.
The hotspots were as follows: shafts 1, 3 and 4 at the Beatrix mine and shaft number 4 at the Oryx mine.
The operational commander was led by the station commander of Virginia, Colonel Senobia Solomon and the acting station commander of Theunissen, Captain Thobile Majikela.
Six people were arrested for trespassing, four undocumented persons were arrested and police confiscated 180,26 kg of abandoned gold-bearing material and three step ladders found abandoned.
The following units and stakeholders were involved:
Theunissen SAPS members, Virginia SAPS, Knock Out Team, Tactical Response Team, Crime Intelligence, Theunissen Detective Services, Welkom K9 Unit, SAPS Air Wing, Protea Security Tactical Team, Beatrix Mine Security, and Protea Coin Security.
These kinds of operations will continue to be conducted to curb theft of copper cable, attempted murder and robberies, which are committed by mostly ZamaZamas.
