A specialised police task team has traced minerals worth R15 million that were stolen from Richards Bay Minerals to a warehouse in Johannesburg.
The SAPS task team that has been deployed to the Richards Bay area to prevent and combat the theft of minerals, recovered the stolen stores of Zircon and Chloride during a raid last week. It is believed that an organised criminal syndicate is behind the spate of mineral looting in the area.
“The minerals that are mined from Richards Bay Minerals were diverted from the Richards Bay Harbour and stored at a warehouse where they were being repackaged to be sold to international buyers,” said SAPS spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe.
“It’s alleged that this syndicate, would transport fake minerals to the harbour and divert the original minerals to Johannesburg.”
She said the specialised team pounced on the warehouse and during a thorough search of the premises found the stolen minerals.
“Police have registered a case of theft,” she said.
A search is under way for the owner of the warehouse.
This is the second recovery of minerals worth millions of rands that the team has made. In March the team recovered stolen minerals at a warehouse in Durban. The driver of the truck and the owner of the warehouse have since been arrested.
SAPS National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola applauded the work of the task team.
“The team is also investigating the assassination of executives in the area. So far, 202 unlicensed firearms have been seized, 43 suspects have been arrested and 68 dockets are currently under investigation,” Masemola said.
“Our intelligence remains on the ground to put a stop to these illegal activities in the mining sector” he added.
