By Kopano Dibakwane
The police in Barberton had their hands full during the arrest of over 1000 alleged illegal miners as part of Operation Vala Umgodi conducted at one of the local mines in the area on Friday 1 August 2025.
The suspects were reportedly left with less room to manoeuvre when members of multiple units from the SAPS (South African Police Service), as well as private security companies, including the K9 Unit, National Roving Team, Task Force, Combat and Proactive Unit, and Vukalanga Security, successfully applied pressure since Monday 28 July 2025 , which subsequently saw the suspects resurfacing from the mine.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Donald Mdhluli, said it was discovered during the operation that most of the suspects were foreign national who did not possess the papers to be in the country. He added that the nationalities of the suspects are yet to be determined through collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs.
“ It was also discovered that some of these miners could be underage, hence police are working in conjunction with officials from the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Minerals and Energy, the National Prosecution Authority, as well as other law enforcement agencies.
“ The suspects could possibly be charged for Contravention of the Immigration Act of South Africa, as well as other charges in relation to legal mining, and Trespassing. more charges may be added as the operation and investigation continues,” said Mdhluli.
The Acting Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Major-General (Dr.) Zeph Mkhwanazi has welcomed the arrest.
“Barberton has been giving us a challenge in terms of crime. We previously made a commitment to heighten our visibility in the area, with continuous operations being carried out. We are not reluctant when a person is found on the wrong side of the law, we arrest, end of the story. We are also grateful for the collaboration with the mine, which made it easy and possible to execute the operation successfully,” said the General Mkhwanazi.
