Twelve arrested in Sabie gold-mining raid as police seize phendukas and 125kg of suspected gold-bearing rock

Police arrested twelve people in Sabie on Sunday 1 November 2026 during an operation against illicit mining, the South African Police Service said in a media statement issued through the Office of the Provincial Commissioner in Mpumalanga.

The operation, part of Operation Vala Umgodi, started at 08:00. Ten suspects were arrested for possession of suspected gold-bearing material and gold-bearing equipment as well as for illegal mining. Police said all ten are Mozambican nationals who are also in the country illegally.

Two more people were fined for dealing in liquor without a licence. One is a South African and the other, police said, is an illegal immigrant from Mozambique.

Items confiscated in the operation were two phendukas, ten 12.5kg bags of suspected gold-bearing material, 76 steel balls, two fern belts, an electric motor, an electric cable, a shovel, two hammers, a gas cylinder, a cutting torch, plastic buckets, water boots, a helmet and head torches. Police also confiscated liquor that was being sold without a licence.

Twelve cases have been opened and the suspects are expected to appear at the Sabie Magistrate’s Court soon. The statement gives no date for that appearance.

Lieutenant General Apaphia Modise, the Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, welcomed the arrests and commended the members for their efforts against illicit mining. Modise said illegal mining damages the economy and the environment and poses a serious safety risk, and said operations under Vala Umgodi will continue to be intensified across the province.

The statement is a police summary of the operation and not a court record. The charges against the suspects have not been tested in court.

The source document is the SAPS media statement, published at https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroom/msspeechdetail.php?nid=72169. Enquiries are directed to Colonel Mavela Masondo on 071 353 6955.