-By Bev Mortimer- In another illegal gold bust this month, members of the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation team from Vaal Rand arrested two suspects aged 23 and 22 in possession of around R800k worth of gold bearing materials in De Deur.
The SAPS says members from Sedibeng, near Vereenigng in Gauteng, met a heavily intoxicated man provoking other people on the street at Walkers Fruit Farms.
They took the man to his place where they found the two suspects processing gold-bearing material in one of the outside rooms, plus five phenduka machines used by informal miners for gold, plus 19 kg gas cylinders and two small bottles of mercury.
The hawks together with together with the Forensic Science Laboratory from Pretoria and representatives from Sibanye Mining were called to the scene.
The pair were arrested and all items used in the commission of crime were seized for further investigation.The suspect pair are expected to appear in thee Vereeniging Magistrate Court tomorrow, 24 May, for operating an illegal gold refinery in contravention of the Precious Metals Act 37 of 2005.
Read about the earlier illegal gold refinery on 17 May: https://stfrancischronicle.com/2023/05/17/hawks-seize-r3-million-gold-material-at-illegal-gold-refinery/
St Francis Chronicle 