At least 13 illegal immigrants from Mozambique have been arrested by security forces on suspicion of illegal mining in South Africa, a South African Police Service (SAPS) source told Luse this Monday.
The arrests took place between last Friday and Sunday in the provinces of Gauteng, where Johannesburg is located, and Mpumalanga, in northeastern South Africa.
The action brought together several operational units from the police, government and military departments of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) as part of the fight against illegal mining in several provinces of the country, which is one of the world’s largest gold producers. platinum and diamonds.
In Gauteng province, 23 people were arrested, including six Mozambicans, 14 Zimbabweans, two Malawians and a South African, who were carrying explosives, in the towns of Hartbeespoortdam and Rustenburg respectively, southern police spokesman Sabata Mokgwabone told Luse African in North West province.
During the operation, police seized more than twenty generators, as well as various quantities of water pumps, gas cylinders, pneumatic hammers and other equipment used in illegal mining activities.
In the province of Mpumalanga, which borders the Portuguese-speaking country of Mozambique, South African defense forces arrested 15 people aged 18 to 51, as well as various amounts of equipment, while dismantling an underground gold mining network that operated from an agricultural farm located on the outskirts of the town of Nelspruit (present-day Mbombela).
“The detained suspects include seven Mozambican nationals,” Mpumalanga police spokesman Donald Mdluli told Lusa.
According to South African police, the remaining detainees are citizens of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini.
In both cases, the suspects also face charges of violating South African immigration laws.
South Africa, one of the most violent countries in the world, is also facing a growing phenomenon of insecurity due to illegal miners in the country, according to South African Police Service (SAPS) National Commissioner Fanny Masemola.
In August, South African police announced that at least 79 Mozambicans, out of an estimated 1,200 illegal miners, had been detained since April 2022 in a crackdown on illegal mining in several South African provinces.