MAVALANI: An intelligence-led operation involving the Giyani police, the Illegal Mining Task Team, the Tactical Response Team (TRT), and the Mopani Tracing Team resulted in the arrest of eight individuals and the confiscation of unregistered firearms, ammunition, one bakkie, and illegal mining apparatus in Mavalani village on Friday, May 8, 2026.
The initiative focused on specific sites known to be linked to illegal mining activities in the region.
During the first operation site, law enforcement apprehended three men aged from 23 to 54 years, seizing two unregistered firearms and ammunition. Authorities also impounded a grey Isuzu Double Cab bakkie believed to have been used to transport unrefined precious minerals.
Additionally, the police confiscated abandoned mining tools and suspected illegally mined materials, which included 17 four-pound hammers, three clay-made stones, two chisels, one crowbar, one three-pound hammer, one plier, and three headlights.
In the second operation site within the village, three foreign male nationals aged 23 to 54 were detained for their involvement in illegal mining and violations of the Immigration Act.
A number of items were seized from this location, including three pendukas, one wheelbarrow, two silver motors, two drums, one spade, six 40-litre basins, three bags, four empty buckets, two blue drums, and R1,950 in cash, alongside two mobile phones.
At a third stop, authorities arrested two women, ages 35 and 37, for their engagement in processing suspected unwrought precious metals inside a small house. During the arrest, a two-pound hammer and a bag containing suspected unwrought precious metals were found.
Each of the suspects is anticipated to face charges related to illegal mining, breaches of the Immigration Act, as well as possession of unregistered firearms and ammunition, in Giyani Magistrate’s Court in the near future.
Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, the Provincial Commissioner of Limpopo, praised the collaborative effort of all units engaged in addressing illegal mining, which exacerbates other serious offenses in the locality.
