The Provincial Commissioner of police in Limpopo Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has applauded the team attached to Operation Vala Umgodi for successes they achieved in the operations that they are conducting on a continuous basis.

The team comprising of members from various SAPS components and units and SANDF conducted an intelligence driven operation that resulted in the apprehension of five suspects aged between 33 and 43 for illegal mining and contravention of the Immigration Act. The team approached the illegal mining site at Atok in Apel policing area and found the suspects still busy illegally mining chrome.

The arrested suspects will appear before Sekhukhune magisterial court facing charges of illegal immigration and illegal mining of chrome. The following items were confiscated:-

2 Drilling bits

1 Jack hammer

1 Shovel.

The teams are hard at work in all the five Districts of Limpopo province to ensure that illegal mining of precious minerals and sand becomes the thing of the past in this Province.

Source : South African Police Service