Fifty-two men, most of whom are foreign nationals, were arrested under suspicion of being involved in various criminal activities in Welkom and Virginia.
Operation Vala Umgodi in the Lejweleputswa district resulted in the arrest of these 52 suspects.
This campaign pertains the national intervention against illicit mining and was orchestrated with the involvement of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF), Tactical Response Team (TRT), and the Public Order Policing (POP).
The suspects were arrested for illegal immigration, selling liquor without a license, drinking in public, theft, possession of suspected stolen property, and possession of drugs.
They appeared in the Welkom and Virginia Magistrate’s Courts after they were arrested in Welkom and Virginia on 15 and 16 January, respectively.
- As the operation proceeded to the X5 suburb in Virginia on 15 January, a 40-year-old man was arrested for possession of possible gold-bearing material and illegal immigration. The next day at Albany Park in Meloding, Virginia, a 63-year-old man was arrested for possession of possible gold-bearing material.
