FREE STATE – Two suspects aged 32 and 41 are due to appear at the Welkom Magistrate’s court today on charges of conspiring to commit a crime and fraud related to illegal mining.
The 32- year-old excavator driver was arrested whilst he was allegedly mining illegally at Kudu Shaft, in Welkom on Friday, 03 April 2020 following a swift response to information received about illegal mining activity.
Further investigation by the Hawks led task team that assisted by the Public Order Police (POP), Tactical Response Team (TRT) and Harmony mine officials, the team conducted a search and seizure in one of the offices of the same mining company operating in Welkom (Harmony Mine).
During the search a company stamp that was allegedly used to forge documents for illegal mining was found along with the forged documents. A 41-year-old occupant of the office was arrested on Saturday, 04 April 2020 soon after the search and seizure.