| About 1000 illegal immigrants netted at a Baberton mine during Operation Vala Umgodi | |
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| Date Published: | 2025/08/01 |
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Media Statement
NELSPRUIT - Approximately 1000 (or even more) illegal immigrants were apprehended at a certain mine in Barberton today, Friday 01 August 2025 during Operation Vala Umgodi. The collaboration between the National Roving team, K9 (Dog) Unit, Task Force, Vukalanga Security, members from Combat and Proactive team, began on Monday, 28 July 2025. The operation has been coordinated and carried out successfully, which disrupted the illegal mining operations and due to the pressure by the law enforcement agencies, which led to the illegal miners resurfacing. It has been discovered through the operation, that most of the miners, if not all, are foreign nationals without valid documentation to be in the country. It was also discovered that some of these miners could be underage, hence Police are working in conjunction with officials from the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Minerals and Energy, the National Prosecution Authority, as well as other law enforcement agencies. The suspects could possibly be charged for Contravention of the Immigration Act of South Africa, as well as other charges in relation to legal mining, and Trespassing. more charges may be added as the operation and investigation continues. The nationalities of the arrested suspects remain to be established, through the collaboration with Home Affairs officials The suspects are expected to appear in court soon.
The Acting Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Major General (Dr.) Zeph Mkhwanazi has acknowledged with much appreciation the success of the operation. "Barberton has been giving us a challenge in terms of crime. We previously made a commitment to heighten our visibility in the area, with continuous operations being carried out. We are not reluctant when a person is found on the wrong side of the law, we arrest, end of the story. We are also grateful for the collaboration with the mine, which made it easy and possible to execute the operation successfully," said the General.
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