A 29-year-old British national is expected to appear in court on Monday after he was arrested by SAPS border officers for possession of suspected precious metals.
A 29-YEAR-old British national is expected to appear in the Musina Magistrate’s Court on Monday after he was arrested for possession of suspected precious metals.
The man was arrested on July 25 by police attached to the Beitbridge Port of Entry.
The Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (known as the Hawks) said the police found bars suspected to be gold at the search bay.
Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Lethunya Mmuroa said the Musina-based Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation team was summoned to the scene.
“The preliminary investigations revealed that abounded gold is estimated to the value of over R200,000.”
Mmuroa said that later that day, at around 5pm, a police official was allegedly approached by the suspect, who was complaining about the police officials who had taken his gold in the morning.
“Following his complaint, the police searched him and found 10 pieces of gold stones estimated at over a R1 million,” Mmuroa said.
“He was immediately arrested for unlawful possession of precious stones.”
A person usually requires a permit to deal with precious metals.
The acting provincial head of the Hawks in Limpopo, Brigadier SC Schambriel, applauded the police for the “wonderful job done”.