From law enforcement to lawbreaker – Former cop locked up for Precious Metals Act violation

Jacob Abrahams Buys, a 53-year-old former police officer, came before the Benoni Regional Court with charges of contravening the Precious Metals Act 37 of 2005. According to Colonel Philani Nkwalase, a spokesperson for the Hawks, the Vaal Rand Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation team arrested Buys on Tuesday. The team worked alongside the Germiston crime intelligence unit and Gauteng highway patrol, as reported by IOL.

The team executed a search warrant at Buys’ premises in Benoni, where they found Buys claiming to be a smelt operator for a smelt house company in Springs. The police team found nine nuggets of gold inside his Mahindra vehicle and one platinum nugget in his home office during the search.

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The team also uncovered a PMD analysis machine, a money-counting machine, and an undisclosed amount of money in his house. A prior investigation showed that the house was not commercially registered and that Buys did not have permission to deal with or buy precious metals and diamonds. The team arrested Buys, who made his first court appearance on Wednesday. The court postponed the case to Friday for a formal bail application.

In another case from last year, the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg issued a final forfeiture order for gold worth R9 million, which authorities seized at the OR Tambo International Airport from a man named Tashinga Nyasha Masinire, who had just landed from Zimbabwe. With the help of customs officials at OR Tambo International, members of the Hawks’ serious organised crime team arrested Nyasha.

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Picture:  Wesley Tingey on Unsplash