18 arrested in crackdown on illegal mining networks in Namakwa
Police clamp down on illegal mining activities in Nuttabooi during a multi-agency operation in the Namakwa District.
Image: File Photo
DURING a two-day crackdown aimed at disrupting illegal mining and criminal networks in the Namakwa District, the Northern Cape provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola, led a high-impact law enforcement operation that resulted in multiple arrests and the seizure of mining tools and equipment.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Mashay Gamieldien said the operation was backed by senior police leadership, including the deputy provincial commissioner for Policing, Major-General Johnny Besnaar, and the Namakwa district commissioner, Brigadier Schalk Andrews, and supported by the provincial heads of Corporate Communication and Liaison, Crime Intelligence, and Provincial Operational Command Centre.
The operations drew on a wide range of resources, including SAPS provincial units, specialised units, local police stations, Home Affairs officials, and members of the Vala Umgodi task team currently deployed in the Namakwa area.
The multi-disciplinary team swept through two key hot spots in the region from May 22 to 23, targeting the mining settlement of Nuttabooi, as well as Koingnaas and Port Nolloth.
The sweeping raids focused on dismantling illegal mining operations by confiscating tools of the trade and tracking down undocumented foreign nationals operating within these high-risk zones. By the end of the operation, 18 people were arrested.
Of those, 16 were undocumented nationals from Zimbabwe and Lesotho - including two women - who were handed over to Home Affairs for processing and deportation. Two additional suspects were taken into custody for drug possession, and suspected drug dens in Sizamele and Nollothville in Port Nolloth were raided as part of the clampdown.
Lieutenant-General Otola said the targeted operations are part of a broader mission to reclaim law and order in an area plagued by illegal mining and criminality. She warned that such high-density enforcement actions will continue across the province in a bid to restore the state’s authority.
All suspects are expected to appear in the Springbok Magistrate’s Court soon.