41 Zim men arrested for illegal chrome mining
South Africa Police Service (SAPS) have announced that they have made 43 arrests for illegal mining.
The arrests were made in Ga-Phasha Village, located in the Limpopo province in the north of the country. The raid took place at around 11 pm local time on Tuesday evening and resulted in the arrest of 41 undocumented Zimbabweans, as well as one Mozambican and a single South African.
Upon arrival, police discovered that the suspects were mining a precious metal, chrome, without the requisite authorisation.
The mine was cordoned off, and the suspects were quickly rounded up. In addition to the arrests, police also revealed that they had seized 12 generators and 10 jackhammers – all worth around $10,000 – as well as chrome, with a rough estimate to be worth over $58,000.
Illegal mining has become a significant problem in South Africa, with many individuals from neighbouring countries entering the country illegally to mine precious metals. This, experts say has led to an increase in organised crime around illegal mining and has placed a significant burden on local law enforcement resources.