A joint operation conducted from 25 to 26 August 2025, led by the Namakwa District Commissioner, Brigadier Schalk Andrews, in collaboration with the Vala Umgodi Task Team, the Border Management Authority, Namakwa District personnel, SAPS components, and the Free State SAPS Airwing, has intensified efforts to curb #IllegalMining activities in the district.
On day one, 25 August 2025, actions were executed in the Nuttabooi informal area, during which two undocumented foreign nationals aged 25 and 27 were arrested, along with a 50-year-old male in Port Nolloth.
On day two, 26 August 2025, rapid searches and patrols were conducted alongside the Orange River, believed to be an area where immigrants cross the river from Oranje Oewer on the Namibian side into Vioolsdrift on the South African border.
Fourteen (14) undocumented foreign nationals, comprising five females and nine males, were arrested in the area on 26 August 2025. They were processed and detained. In total, 17 arrested persons are expected to appear in the Port Nolloth Magistrate’s Court soon.
#FightingCrime
Enforcement addresses crime in the Namakwa Districthttps://t.co/4Z6yquMpgc#ArriveAlive #IllegalMining @SAPoliceService pic.twitter.com/DnWWa8kxU1
– Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) August 27, 2025
