21 illegal miners remain in police custody
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State says they intend to oppose bail application set to be made by 21 illegal mining suspects.
The said suspects were arrested a week ago on October 10 following a surveillance operation by the Hawks, several tactical response teams that included a private security company. They were arrested in the early morning hours at a mining shaft in Stilfontein.
The suspects made an appearance at Stilfontein Magistrates Court on Tuesday and the matter was postponed to October 31st, 2022 for formal bail application.
NPA Spokesperson Henry Mamomthame said they can confirm that of the 21 suspects, five were confirmed to be South African citizens while the remaining 16 are confirmed to be illegal foreign nationals in the country.
“the state is studying the docket’s preliminary charges of conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of prohibited firearms, possession of ammunition and contravention of the immigration act, and not ruling out a possibility of adding more charges.”
“All the suspects will remain in police custody until the next court appearance” said Mamomthame.
20 suspects will be represented by one private attorney while one is set to be represented a private attorney as well.
