25-05-2025
There's gold in them heels! Hawks arrest two after finding illicit gold in suspect's shoes
SAPS
Two men have been arrested for the possession of illicit gold.
Illicit gold was found hidden in one of the suspects' shoes.
The suspects, originally from Mpumalanga, were arrested in Gauteng.
The Hawks have arrested two men with illicit gold – with one of them hiding the precious metal in his shoes.
Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Singo, said the two suspects were arrested on Friday after the Hawks received a tip-off about a car that would be travelling along the M2 with illicit gold.
READ | Father, son among 3 arrested, R10.2m of stash seized at alleged illegal gold dealership
'The vehicle was spotted entering [a] filling station with two occupants inside and later drove out. The police followed the vehicle and stopped it on the M2 freeway,' Singo added.
Police did not find any illegal items inside the car.
However, a further search was conducted and one of the suspects, a passenger, was found hiding 70 grams of illicit gold inside his shoes, Singo said.
Both men were then taken to their place of residence in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga to continue the search, he added.
When they arrived at their residence, police discovered a further 60 grams of illicit gold. Both suspects were subsequently arrested for contravention of the Precious Metals Act.
The two suspects are expected to appear before the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Monday, following their arrest.
In an unrelated case, two men were recently also arrested for the possession of suspected stolen property and possession of unwrought gold worth R16 million in Johannesburg this week.
In that incident, the Hawks received information of individuals in a grey BMW travelling from the Free State to sell gold in Gauteng.
The two men have been granted R20 000 bail each.
Gauteng Hawks head, Major General Ebrahim Kadwa, commended the work done by the investigation team, adding that the Hawks will 'remain resolute in combating cross-province organised crime'.
'We are determined to address the illegal gold impacting our nation. The recent successes in the arrest of several individuals is testament to that', said Kadwa.
