Twelve suspects, including two minors, have been arrested during a late-night raid on an illegal gold processing laboratory in Mpumalanga.
The raid was conducted by the Hawks assisted by the National Intervention Unit, Bomb disposal, Tactical Response Team, Local Criminal Record Center, SAPS Barberton, and SSG Security Services at Brown’s farm in Barberton.
Information received led to the discovery of the illegal laboratory operating on the farm where a group of illegal miners are employed to process the gold.
#sapsHQ Illegal gold bearing processing laboratory dismantled, 12 arrested by #Hawks at Brown’s farm in Barberton. The suspects will appear before the Barberton Magistrate Court on Monday 28 December 2020. NPhttps://t.co/IWjcCsYOq8 pic.twitter.com/thQKDZRDEj
— SA Police Service ?? (@SAPoliceService) December 24, 2020
Five of those arrested are illegal immigrants. The minors are aged 15 and 16. The group was employed by two different bosses, one in Johannesburg and the other in Mpumalanga.
The suspect in Mpumalanga has been arrested and charged. All suspects will appear before the Barberton Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
