Pretoria – The Hawks in Gauteng arrested seven alleged illegal mining kingpins on Tuesday after police raided their luxury homes in Khutsong and Carletonville on the West Rand.
Fourteen vehicles, a truck and home-made firearms were seized during the raid.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the raid on the residences of the alleged illegal mining kingpins was conducted in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs and other stakeholders.
Mogale said the suspects were allegedly buying gold-bearing materials from illegal mining, processing it and selling it to the next level in the hierarchy.
Mogale said the arrests were the result of an ongoing project which began in 2018.
During an interview with eNCA, Mogale said that two other people were taken in for questioning.
“The two people are people of interest and we took them in for questioning… For now, it’s seven suspects who are in custody,” she said.
The suspects have been charged with money laundering, fraud and dealing in illegal precious metals.
The suspects are expected to appear in the Carletonville Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
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