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Thupeyo Muleya-Beitbridge Bureau
A ZIMBABWEAN truck driver has been arrested in South Africa for illegally transporting chrome ore worth R650 000 into Limpopo province.
Brighton Mutandani (37) was arrested on Thursday last week by the Hawks. He has since appeared in the Praktiseer Regional Court charged with transporting chrome without a permit and contravening the Immigration Act.
Hawks spokesperson for Limpopo Captain Matimba Maluleke said they were descending hard on illegal mining in the province.
“As the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation continues to fight the scourge of illegal mining in the province, a sting joint operation between the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation and Crime Intelligence was conducted on the evening of 2 February 2023,” he said.
“During the operation, a suspicious tipper truck was spotted driving in the area and it was stopped and searched.
“The truck was found fully loaded with chrome ore that the driver could not produce a permit for and he was immediately placed under arrest. Further investigations revealed that the driver did not have legal documents to be in the country.”
Capt Maluleke said the chrome and the truck worth an estimated R650 000 had since been seized.
He said Mutandani was remanded in custody to 10 February 2023 for formal bail application.
Hawks provincial head for Limpopo, Major General Gopz Govender, said his team had done well in clamping down on illegal miners.
“We look forward to conducting more operations to deal with the illegal mining problem and our presence will be felt,” said Maj Gen Govender.
South African police recently tightened screws on illegal miners following death of eight panners including four Zimbabweans, three Mozambicans and a South African in the Burgersfort area in Limpopo Province. They suffocated when the mine shaft filled up with rain water and collapsed and the police have since opened an inquest docket.
It is reported that the mishap occurred in the ga-Moroga village where the suspected illegal miners had been digging for chrome ore before the walls of the shaft gave in during heavy rains. The rain water apparently pushed the soil that blocked the only point they were using for entry and exit. As a result, they then suffocated.
Illegal chrome mining is rife in areas along the R37 road in Sekhukhune District where the police have been arresting many illegal miners and confiscating mining equipment.
Four Zimbabweans were among 21 suspected illegal miners whose bodies were discovered in a mineshaft in Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa in November last year. They were trapped in the same manner.
In September 2021, South African emergency workers retrieved 11 bodies of Zimbabweans who died after a generator they were using in a disused underground mine exploded in Benoni, some 35km outside Johannesburg.
It is understood that the group which included 15 people, among them Zimbabweans and Mozambicans, entered the mine on August 27 of the same year and were using the generator for lighting and drilling.
The group reportedly died of suffocation while a few who managed to escape made a report to the police.
The mine is located in the Springs area of Benoni.
Smuggling of chrome ore is also an offence in Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter