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THREE men, suspected to be Zimbabwean, were arrested for illegal mining and contravening the immigration act in South Africa.

In a statement, the South African police said three undocumented foreign males aged between 18 and 33 years were arrested at Nhlaniki village outside Giyani in Mopani District in the early hours of the same date for illegal mining and contravention of immigration act.

“During the operation, the team pounced on the three suspects at an illegal mining site while digging precious minerals underground at about 2AM. The team confiscated mining equipment that included spades and a shovel,” read the statement.

The suspects, the statement said, have briefly appeared before Giyani Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 22 February 2024.

“The three suspects were remanded in custody and their cases were postponed for further investigations to different dates as follows Innocent Mazukana (33) to 28 February, George Sithole (28) to 26 February and Thomas Makwuenda (32) to 17 April 2024,” read the statement.