Man arrested in Sabie for allegedly illegally supplying gold-bearing material
A law enforcement operation in Pilgrim’s Rest led to an investigation of a Mozambican national and the vehicle he was driving. The man was arrested in Sabie on Sunday April 7 for allegedly supplying gold-bearing material.
A Mozambican man has been arrested and is facing charges of money laundering after an investigation led the police to Sabie on Sunday April 7, where they allegedly found a large sum of cash, allegedly obtained from dealing in gold-bearing material illegally.
A provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli, said law enforcement was conducting Operation Vala Umgodi in Pilgrim’s Rest that day in an effort to clamp down on illegal mining activities and had already confiscated some illegal mining equipment when they noticed a suspicious white Toyota Fortuner. Mdhluli said the police stopped the vehicle for verification and the driver, a Mozambican national, told them the car belonged to his brother, who was in Sabie.
“The team went to Sabie for further investigation. They discovered that the man’s story regarding the ownership of the car was not adding up,” said Mdhluli.
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He said when the police further inspected the car, they noticed a secret compartment underneath the steering wheel where a large amount of cash was found.
“Preliminary investigation suggests that the foreign national somehow obtained cash from allegedly trading in gold-bearing materials, hence he was apprehended,” he said.
He said the man is facing charges of money laundering and is expected to appear in the Sabie Magistrate’s Court today, April 9.
Meanwhile, the operation in Pilgrim’s Rest saw SAPS recover 30 phendukas, 10 electric motors and four gas cylinders.
