POLICE in Limpopo are working hard to curb the problem of undocumented illegal immigrants and illegal mining after 13 suspects were arrested over the weekend.
One illegal miner was arrested in Mahwelereng outside Mokopane in the Waterberg District and others were nabbed in the Capricorn and Sekhukhune districts.
According to Limpopo police spokesman Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, the arrest was made possible through multi-disciplinary forces that formed part of Operation Vala Umgodi.
In the first arrest, Ledwaba said police arrested two men aged 28 and 47 at Mavalani illegal mining site outside Giyani on Saturday, 20 April, while processing valuable minerals.
On the same day, another suspect was arrested, a 26-year-old man who was also arrested for illegal sand mining at Mahwelereng outside Mokopane in the Waterberg District.
"During the operation, police confiscated mining equipment used at illegal mining sites. These included dump trucks, a TLB front-end loader, phendukas, welding equipment, grinders, shovels and bags of precious metals," Ledwaba said.
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According to Ledwaba, at least 10 undocumented foreigners were arrested for immigration offences in another major operation in the Capricorn and Sekhukhune districts.
"The arrested foreigners were referred to the immigration officers in the Department of Home Affairs for processing," he said.
Ledwaba said the suspects are expected to appear in various magistrates' courts shortly on illegal mining and contravention of the Immigration Act charges.
Meanwhile, Home Affairs is hot on the trail of those responsible for admitting undocumented foreign nations into the country.
On Friday, 19 April, one Home Affairs employee was sentenced to prison for fraud and corruption.
Amos Ngwenyama was sentenced to eight years and six years in prison by the Giyani Commercial Court in Limpopo for issuing birth certificates to undeserving foreign nationals in exchange for money.
The sentences will run concurrently.
According to Home Affairs spokesman Thabo Mokgola, Amos worked at Home Affairs in Malamulele.
He was arrested following a joint investigation by the department's Anti-Corruption Unit and the Hawks in Limpopo in 2023.
Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has welcomed the conviction of the employee and reiterated that this is a warning to civil servants involved in fraud and corruption that their days are numbered.
“We don't condone corruption and misconduct. The public expects government officials to adhere to high ethical and moral standards. They're also expected to be honest when serving the public and the state.
“We'll deal with this plague from government and emerge victorious,” the minister said.
