UPDATE: Teen among 14 Stilfontein zama zamas who resurfaced overnight
National police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says all 14 Mozambican nationals are currently in police cells.
An aerial view shows an open mine shaft where artisanal miners get access to the mine in Stilfontein on 17 November 2024. Picture: AFP
STILFONTEIN - The number of illegal miners arrested at the old Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stilfontein has been revised to 14, up from 11.
The latest zama zamas to emerge follow weeks of Operation Vala Umgodi by police in parts of the North West, which has seen the arrest of more than 1,000 other illegal miners.
National police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said all 14 Mozambican nationals were in police cells.
They told police that heavily armed men had been holding other illegal miners hostage underground.
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“They have confirmed what police have always been saying, that firstly there is no one trapped, and that there are 10 heavily armed Basotho nationals who are guarding them and making them dig for gold.”
Mathe said a 14-year-old boy was among the group in police custody.
“What they have also told us is that the food and water sent down has been confiscated by these men and they are not giving it to these illegal miners, they are keeping it for themselves because they want to continue with the operation.”
An operation by law enforcement and mining experts to shut down the illegal underground network is set to continue on Monday morning.
ARRESTED ZAMA ZAMAS REVEAL CLUES ABOUT UNDERGROUND OPERATION
Police are on high alert at the abandoned Stilfontein mine following the arrest of the 14 illegal miners.
About four police vans are on patrol at shaft 10 on Monday morning, which is less than a kilometre from where Eyewitness News spent most of the past few days.
The cops are unsure when it's likely to see more illegal miners emerge from the shaft.
What they could tell Eyewitness News about Sunday night is that they believe the 14 they arrested in the early hours of the morning assumed they would catch police off guard.
They were, of course, wrong.
The arrested illegal miners gave police more clues about the underground operation while being processed at a nearby station.
This includes that heavily armed Basotho nationals are calling the shots and are forcing other illegal miners to continue with business as usual.
One kilometre from there, mining experts are expected to continue with the operation to retrieve the zama zamas from Shaft 11.