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Police seize over R30 million worth of fake goods

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Police seize over R30 million worth of fake goods:

The South African Police Service (SAPS) says it remains relentless in its efforts to uproot the illicit trade in counterfeit goods, as it has a detrimental impact on the economic growth of the country.

The police services’ National Counterfeit Unit led another integrated takedown operation in the Johannesburg CBD on Friday, which resulted in the seizure of counterfeit goods worth over R9 million.

The team comprised of SAPS members, officials from the South African Revenue Services (SARS), Gauteng Traffic, Brand Protectors, Crime Prevention Wardens and security companies.

During the operation, the team seized over 11 000 counterfeit items such as clothing apparel, shoes, watches, handbags and sunglasses. 

“This was the third takedown operation in Gauteng province in the last four weeks,” the SAPS said in a statement. 

In addition, the team also seized over R8 million worth of counterfeit goods during a takedown operation in Rustenburg, in the North West province last week.

“This brings the total value of counterfeit goods seized for the past four weeks to over R30 million.”

Illicit drugs

Meanwhile, in Bela-Bela, Limpopo, three male suspects aged between 38 and 43 years were  arrested for the unlawful possession and dealing in illicit drugs in the early hours of Friday.

Acting on intelligence regarding illicit drug activities in Bela-Bela, the Waterberg District Illicit Mining Task Team conducted a swift and intelligence-driven operation resulting in the apprehension of these suspects.

During the operation, the SAPS said a 38-year-old South African male suspect was apprehended at his residence, where the police discovered 2 900 sachets of nyaope and about six 25 litres of diesel suspected to be stolen.

Meanwhile, two foreign nationals aged 43 and 34 years were intercepted in separate locations in Bela-Bela.

“They were found in possession of illicit drugs, including ninety sachets of crystal meth and nyaope.”

In Musina, the border policing team made significant arrests as part of Disruptive Operation Vala Umgodi at the Beitbridge port of entry. 

“Five Zimbabwean nationals were apprehended and subsequently processed for direct deportation by Immigration Officers from the Department of Home Affairs.” 

In a separate operation, members of the Mopani District Illicit Mining Task Team conducted thorough searches during Operation Vala Umgodi on the same day, leading to the seizure of multiple mining equipment in Myakayaka village. 

This equipment are believed to be linked to illegal mining activities in the Maake policing area. 

Furthermore, the SAPS confiscated drugs with an estimated street value of R90 000 during an intelligence-driven operation in Bela-Bela.

The arrested  suspects are to appear before the Bela-Bela Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 11 March 2024. 

“The South African Police Service is committed to combatting illegal activities and ensuring the safety and security of our communities.” – SAnews.gov.za

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Top Star Drive-In: Destroyed by What Created it

However, the very thing that created the Top Star eventually destroyed it. Because the early miners had used crude methods, the Ferreira Dump—and dozens of others like it—still contained significant traces of gold. As the price of gold rose and new chemical extraction technologies (like the carbon-in-pulp process) made it profitable to “mine the waste,” the ground beneath the Top Star became more valuable than the cinema itself. In 2006, despite fierce opposition from heritage groups who argued that the dump and the drive-in were culturally significant landmarks, the projectors were turned off for the last time.

The reclamation of the dump was a staggering industrial feat. Starting in 2008, mining giant DRDGold used high-pressure water cannons to “monitor” the dump, turning 5 million tons of solid earth back into a liquid slurry. This slurry was then piped 40 kilometers across the province to a processing plant in Brakpan. By 2011, the “mountain” had completely vanished. The 50-meter-high plateau that had dominated the southern skyline for a century was reduced to a flat, dusty crater.

The disappearance of the Top Star is a poignant symbol of Johannesburg’s “extractive” nature. It is a city that consumes itself to stay alive; even its historical landmarks are subject to the fluctuating price of minerals on the London and New York stock exchanges. Today, if you drive along the M2, there is an empty space in the sky where the Top Star used to be. While the reclamation removed a source of toxic dust and “acid mine drainage,” it also erased a piece of the city’s collective memory. The land where the gold-flecked mountain once stood is now being rehabilitated for light industrial use, proving that in eGoli, even the horizon is for sale if there’s enough gold hidden inside it.