Police strike at zamas
Police are doing their utmost to put a stop to illegal mining, which seems to be encroaching even closer to residential areas in Florida South.
Illegal mining remains a thorn in the side of residents and police in Florida, with mining activities creeping ever closer into neighbourhoods of Florida South.
Florida police, in their ongoing efforts to eradicate this illicit industry, held a series of intensive raids aimed at the notorious zama zamas (illegal miners) on Wednesday, December 4, targeting various illegal mining hotspots throughout Florida.
The first leg of the operation was held in the open area behind Poole Street where illegal mining is rife, with zama zamas having caused extensive damage to infrastructure including a main water pipe that runs through the veld, which was intentionally damaged, gushing fresh drinking water and providing the makeshift mines with water.
Police officers descended on the site from various positions along Poole and Hebbard streets, as well as from the factories at the opposite side of the veld, effectively blocking off escape routes for fleeing miners.
Unfortunately, the fleet-footed miners made a quick escape by ducking into their extensive labyrinth of underground tunnels.
Officers collected and confiscated an array of tools and implements used in illegal mining.
Officers moved to the second phase of the operation, targeting the area behind the BP service station on Albertina Sisulu Road, where they encountered even more extensive illicit mining activities and even more zamas disappearing down tunnels.
The operation was led by acting station commander Lieutenant Colonel Ivy Mabuso and resulted in the confiscation of mining implements and tools and the arrest of one foreign national.
At one of the illegal mines into which zama zamas disappeared, a police officer threw a rock into the shaft to try and ascertain its depth. The rock could be heard rolling downhill for nearly a minute.
