20 January 2011 18:35

http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page295046?oid=525351&sn=2009+Detail&pid=287226

Three years of "Project Cauldron" work targeted higher-level gangsters.

JOHANNESBURG - Two serving, and one erstwhile, policemen were among eight arrested on Thursday by The Hawks, a specialist police division, for dealing in gold and platinum stolen, mainly, from mines in South Africa.

The eight arrested suspects face charges of theft (of precious metals), possession, dealing and acquisition of precious metals, money laundering, racketeering and defeating the hands of justice.

However, the arrests involve only one syndicate. Criminal activity in precious metals has plagued South Africa for decades, and is all but institutionalised. Countering this increasingly sophisticated form of gangsterism is a police division which specialises in busting precious metals crime. The Precious Metal unit is known as one of the most dedicated within the police force.

The Hawks arrested the suspects following a large scale-operation, raiding seven premises in three provinces, Gauteng, Free State and North West. The arrests are a culmination of an investigation dubbed Project Cauldron, which began in 2008. Today marked the closing of the project, which had targeted level three and four of the syndicate.

"Level one" is classified as where precious metals (gold and platinum) are stolen from SA mines by level one and two operatives. At level two, the product is supplied to local and regional buyers. Buyers at level three supply the commodities to national buyers, at level four.

At this stage, dealers sell precious metals locally, or it is exported to refining countries. Level five buyers are situated abroad, where they refine the precious metals and manage the money laundering activities.

In arresting some of their own, two police officers allegedly involved in corrupt activities were among those arrested. One was picked up at his office in Pretoria, and another was arrested at the SAPS 10111 Centre in Midrand.

One of the policeman allegedly took confiscated precious metal and sold it to the syndicate; he was supplied with fake material to replace the original. The second cop, allegedly on the syndicate's payroll, allegedly received cash for feeding information of investigations.

Among the premises raided were a refinery, which belongs to a former policeman who once worked at the Precious Metal unit. The overall investigation, which has also involved the Asserts Forfeiture Unit, has seized cash, including foreign notes, and luxury vehicles.