TAXI DRIVER ADDED AS 88TH SUSPECT IN ORKNEY ILLEGAL MINERS CASE.
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Thethile Master Boyce (60), was added to the charge sheet as the 88th suspect and he appeared with the other 87 accused on Thursday,11 August 2022 at Stilfontein Regional Court.
Hawks investigations revealed that Boyce is a taxi owner, who allegedly transported the suspected illegal miners to and from the mine and also transported food. His taxi was seized by the Hawks after his arrest. He is currently out on R2000 bail.
According to the police reports eight (8) of the accused, were wounded and six (6) fatally wounded, during a shootout with members of the Special Task Force, assisted by Hawks Organised Crime in the North West, during an intelligence-driven operation on Wednesday, 20 October 2021. The eight (8) injured have since been discharged from the hospital, and are now in police custody. Following the shootout, Police discovered, two mini-busses, illegal mining paraphernalia, gold-bearing material, and eleven Illegal firearms (3 x shotguns, 3 x rifles, 4 x pistols and 1 x revolver) and bags of food.
NPA Regional spokesperson Henry Mamothame says the other 87 accused are in police custody and they indicated their intention to the court of applying for bail and have appointed a different attorney to represent them just for this application. They initially abandoned bail, owing to their illegal status in South Africa.
Furthermore Stilfontein Regional Court postponed the case to 06 September 2022, for docket and consultations.
