Mpumalanga police have ramped up operations against illegal mining activities in the small towns of Sabie and Pilgrim’s Rest, conducting raids that led to the confiscation of equipment and the arrest of several suspected illegal miners, locally known as Zama zamas.
According to police spokesperson, more than 800 people have been arrested in the Ehlanzeni region over the past two months alone. The spokesperson described the operation as yielding good results and said it involves multiple units from the South African Police Service, including the K9 unit, the Tactical Response Team, and the National Intervention Unit.
“The suspects are facing different charges,” the spokesperson said. “We’ve arrested them for various offenses. There are those that we’ve found with illegal firearms. There are those that we found with ammunition. There are those that we’ve found with gold-bearing material. There are those that we’ve arrested for being in the country illegally as illegal immigrants. So the operation is continuing.”
Residents in the affected communities have welcomed the increased police presence. One resident highlighted the severe impact of illegal mining on local communities and the economy of the towns.
“Currently we have an influx of illegal immigrations and people who are coming here to benefit from these illegal activities of illegal mining,” the resident said. “So those people is quite unfortunate because we live amongst them. We live with them within our communities. They are renting in our areas. They’re in simile and all across around the community.”
Some residents are calling for the deployment of soldiers to complement the police efforts in addressing the ongoing threat posed by illegal mining.