Tebogo Msimanga |
The police in Mpumlanga arrested 11 suspects and recovered chrome worth about R 5 Million on Thursday, 28 April 2022 in Witbank.This is after law enforcement agencies conducted a sting operation. The team consisted of members from Witbank SAPS, the Witbank Crime Intelligence members as well as officials from Transnet.
Colonel Donald Mdlhuli of Mpumalanga Police said a search and seizure was conducted by the astute members at Self Storage offices in Witbank. “During the operation at the facilities, a discovery of four facility rooms packed with mining chrome was made. The police then arrested the eleven suspects on the premises whilst they were reportedly busy loading chrome into a truck.”
Mdlhuli said during the initial investigation conducted at the crime scene, it was discovered that the arrested suspects were part of suspects who were allegedly stealing and smuggling chrome from trains between Ferro Metals Witbank and Richardsbay in KwaZulu-Natal. “It is suspected that the chrome was transported in trucks to Gauteng where it was then sold to certain individuals”.
He added that amongst the 11 suspects, one female and 8 males are from Zimbabwe meanwhile two other males are from Mozambique. “The investigation has so far revealed that the woman, believed to be the kingpin was in possession of a South African ID whereas the rest did not have legal documents to be in the country.”
The police are working in partnership with the department of Home Affairs to determine the status of the woman and also to find out on how she got hold of the Identity Document .The investigation regarding this matter is continuing where more arrests are expected.
