Pretoria – Truck driver, Brighton Mutandani, 37, was remanded in custody when he appeared before the Praktiseer Regional Court in Limpopo for allegedly transporting chrome without a permit and contravening the Immigration Act.
Hawks spokesperson in Limpopo, Captain Matimba Maluleke said Mutandani was arrested during an anti-crime blitz last week.
“As the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) continue to fight the scourge of illegal mining in the province, a sting joint operation between the Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation and crime intelligence (unit) was conducted on the evening of 2 February, 2023,” Maluleke said.
He said during the operation, a suspicious tipper truck was spotted driving in the area and it was stopped and searched.
“The truck was found fully loaded with chrome that the driver could not produce a permit for and he was immediately placed under arrest. Further investigations revealed that the driver did not have legal documents to be in the country,” Maluleke said.
“The estimated value of the seized items, the chrome and tipper truck, is R650 000.”
Mutandani was remanded in custody until February 10, for formal bail application.
Meanwhile, the provincial head of the Hawks in Limpopo Province, Major-General Gopz Govender has congratulated the law enforcement team for the “good work”.
“We look forward to conducting more operations to deal with illegal mining problem and our presence will be felt,” Govender said.
In January, officers from the Limpopo Highway Patrol team arrested a 38-year-old man, and seized chrome with an estimated street value of R500 000.
The suspect was arrested while he was travelling along the R37 road next to Atok in the Apel policing precinct outside Burgersfort.
“The members (police officers) were performing normal patrol duties when they noticed an overloaded tipper truck travelling in the direction of Burgersfort, at about 11pm. The truck was stopped and pulled off the road,” Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said.
“The driver was questioned about the load, and he informed the police that he was transporting chrome that was allegedly gathered by illegal miners at a mine in Atok.”
IOL