Despite the criminal case against the accused who were arrested for alleged illegal mining activities in the Goldfields being withdrawn, asset forfeiture investigators of the Hawks and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) continued to work around the clock to ensure that assets belonging to one of the suspects and believed to be bought using money profited from crime, are forfeited.
On 27 March, the Division of the High Court of South Africa in Bloemfontein granted a forfeiture order to a cumulative value of over R3 million.
Three fixed properties, R254 000 in cash and five luxurious vehicles belonging to Mojela Benjamin Lekalo were successfully forfeited to the state.
The forfeited items are among properties seized when ten suspects were arrested in November 2011 during the conclusion of Papa G, a Hawks undercover operation to address illicit gold mining and related money laundering in Welkom.
Meanwhile, the same team of investigators has secured a preservation order, granted on 20 March 2025, against a white Ford Ranger. The vehicle was recovered in April 2024 when the police in Lindley intercepted it on the R76
“Meanwhile, the same team of investigators has secured a preservation order, granted on 20 March 2025, against a white Ford Ranger. The vehicle was recovered in April 2024 when the police in Lindley intercepted it on the R76.
“It was loading stolen cattle. Brig. Paulus Touch Mbongo, acting Free State head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), has lauded the unrelenting efforts of the team of investigators in the case,” says Lt Col Zweli Mohobeleli, spokesperson of the Hawks in the Free State.
