More assets seized from alleged illegal mining kingpins

THE Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has announced that it has successfully obtained three orders granting it permission to seize assets worth some R18 million from alleged illegal mining kingpins.

The NPA said the order was granted in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, and authorises the seizure of 16 bank accounts, 51 vehicles and seven properties from several suspects.

The matter involves six alleged illegal mining kingpins arrested on the West Rand, Joburg, in October 2022.

The six suspected illegal mining kingpins are identified as Bethuel Ngobeni, Dumisa Moyo, Nhlanhla Magwaca, Moseki Sechele, Thabo Sechele and Khudzai Mashaya who made their first appearance at the Oberholzer Magistrate’s Court on October 19, 2022.

In 2023, three more female suspects, reported to be some of the suspects’ spouses, were added to the case.

NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, said a preservation order was sought because the items were “the proceeds of unlawful activities of a syndicate dealing in unwrought gold in the Khutsong area” in Carletonville.

“This emanates from a criminal investigation by the Hawks-registered project Gillette in 2018, with the purpose of infiltrating a syndicate that illegally buys gold-bearing materials from legal miners and zama-zamas (illegal miners).They then process it into gold nuggets and sell it around Johannesburg, but the main buyers are still unknown. The syndicate is mainly composed of foreign nationals from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Some syndicate members acquired South African ID documents fraudulently,” she said. The seized property will be sold at public auction, with the proceeds going into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account.