Northern Cape police spokesperson, Mohale Ramatseba, says officers from the Springbok Public Order Policing unit received a tip-off regarding the illicit mining activities in the coastal town of Port Nolloth, which is close to 160 kms away. The unit went to a house in Douglas Street on Friday night, whereupon they made the discovery.

He says the team found what appears to be 254 diamonds placed in a ring box and over R32 000 in cash in the suspect’s possession. Furthermore, two diamond testers, two digital scales and a magnifying glass were also found. All these items have since been confiscated and are currently with police. The estimated value of the 254 diamonds is yet to be determined.

Ramatseba says the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation known as the Hawks will from now onwards investigate the case. The suspect is set to appear before the Local Magistrate’s Court soon.

In July 2020, thousands of illegal miners invaded Port Nolloth for diamonds in the wake of the lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic. The area occupied was believed to belong to the Pooling and Sharing Joint Venture (PSJV) formed between state-owned entity, Alexkor and the Richtersveld Mining Company (RMC). The miners from the Eastern- and nearby Western Cape told the SABC at the time that the PSJV had leased the invaded land to contractors who shared the diamonds they found with the mining company.

This is a developing story…

OFM News