A 29-year-old British national is scheduled to appear in the Musina Magistrate’s Court on Monday after being arrested for possession of suspected precious metals.
Police from Beitbridge Port of Entry arrested the man on July 25.
The Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (known as the Hawks) reported that police discovered gold-colored stones at the search bay.
According to Hawks spokeswoman Warrant Officer Lethunya Mmuroa, the Musina-based Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation has been dispatched to the location.
“The preliminary investigations revealed that abounded gold is estimated to the value of over R200,000.”
Mmuroa stated that later that day, at 5 p.m., an on-duty police officer was allegedly approached by the suspect, who was whining about the officers who had taken his gold in the morning.
“Following his complaint, 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.”
To deal with precious metals, you typically need a permit.
Brigadier SC Schambriel, the Acting Provincial Head of the Hawks in Limpopo Province, praised the police for their “wonderful job done”.
In a similar occurrence, a former Gauteng cop was detained in May and charged with violating the Precious Metals Act.
Jacob Abrahams Buys, 53, was detained at his residence in Benoni.
The Hawks reported that a police crew discovered nine gold nuggets inside his Mahindra. One platinum nugget was discovered in his home office.
