The suspects, aged between 28 and 55, were arrested Monday morning in Welkom on allegations of illegal mining, money laundering, theft, and corruption. The Free State Hawks spokesperson, Christopher Singo, says several items were seized during the arrest, which include 23 vehicles with an estimated value of more than R5 million, two firearms, two gas bottles, one cutting torch set with pipes, documents and an undisclosed amount of money.

It is alleged that these syndicate members are owners of various businesses that are operating legally and generate some income. However, those companies are allegedly used to launder large amounts of money through their illegal mining business activities. They allegedly use runners to illegally recruit foreign nationals to work as illegal miners and then obtain the gold-bearing material and sell it to illegal gold buyers.

Their arrests were effected during the termination of a project-driven investigation lead by the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation team in the Free State.

"The project investigation began in July 2018, aimed at disrupting and dismantling the identified threat of illicit mining in the Welkom and Thabong areas," says Singo.

OFM News