Three men in the Northern Cape province of South Africa were arrested yesterday immediately after selling an uncut diamond for R120k to a buyer on Thursday this week.
Lionel Cloete, Kowa and Motale Joseph Kheola, aged between 40-51, were arrested by the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation team for allegedly dealing in unpolished diamonds. The trio made a brief appearance before Upington Magistrate court on Friday, 19 May 2023 .
The Hawks had received prior info about the pending sale of diamonds and they pounced and made the arrests immediately after the sale. The team seized five cell phones, one unpolished 4-carat diamond and a BMW 3 series.
The suspects were granted R5000 bail each and the case has been postponed to 18 July 2023 for further investigation.
St Francis Chronicle 