{"id":2001,"date":"2026-04-23T07:38:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T07:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/?p=2001"},"modified":"2026-04-23T07:38:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T07:38:37","slug":"chinese-miners-abandon-heavy-excavators-in-bush-as-joint-op-pounces-on-penhalonga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/2026\/04\/23\/chinese-miners-abandon-heavy-excavators-in-bush-as-joint-op-pounces-on-penhalonga\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Miners Abandon Heavy Excavators in Bush as Joint Op Pounces on Penhalonga"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Fanuel Chinowaita<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PENHALONGA, Zimbabwe, 23 April 2026<\/strong>\u2013 A joint security operation targeting rampant illegal riverbed mining along the Mutare River in Penhalonga last week led to the recovery of thirteen heavy-duty excavators abandoned across multiple locations, as well as the arrest of eleven individuals, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a police situation report, the provincial joint operation\u2014comprising members of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), the ZRP, and the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS)\u2014was dispatched to dismantle illegal alluvial gold panning syndicates operating in the environmentally sensitive Mutare River basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a notable incident near the Beauly area, security teams discovered several excavators concealed in thick bush. Police reports indicate the machinery was deliberately hidden to evade detection and was abandoned after the operators reportedly received advance warning of the operation\u2019s launch. However, the recovery was not isolated to a single site. A total of thirteen excavators were found and impounded across various locations in the Penhalonga area during the sweep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investigators have not yet established whether the thirteen excavators belong to a single company or if they are owned by separate entities. Police confirmed that the equipment was being operated by Chinese nationals who fled into the surrounding bush upon learning of the security forces’ approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recovered heavy machinery includes models such as XCMG, XCMG Max, CAT, and CARTER.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a parallel deployment, a separate team apprehended eight men on charges of Criminal Trespass at Chikanga Farm. The suspects were identified by police as: Norbet Simon (34) of Kambuzuma; Michael Samuel (25) of Chief Nyajena, Chiredzi; Beaven Kararira (18) of Mutokotyo Village, Chief Rusambo; Taurai Nyasvimba (19) of Kafeso Village, Chief Mutasa; Terence Chakati (28) of Chief Chisewete; Trust Jerenyenje (29) of Chief Chipuriro, Guruve; Charles Chimbadzwa (19) of Gonon’on’o Chiyadzwa; and Taona Muchekenyedze (28) of Muchekenyedze Village, Chief Nyajena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the sweep, authorities also seized a substantial cache of mining equipment, including approximately 100 metres of PVC piping, 11 shovels, 3 mattocks, 1 slasher, 1 pick, 11 gas blowers, 14 submersible water pumps, 3 garden water pumps, 6 generators, a wheelbarrow, a 2kg heavy-duty hammer, and roughly 10 litres of diesel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A raid conducted near Chikanga Bridge along the Chikanga River uncovered a makeshift tuckshop allegedly servicing illegal miners. Police recovered a large quantity of alcohol from the unlicensed outlet, including 7 x 1.5-litre containers of Chibuku, 31 x 200ml Ice Whisk, 200 x 200ml 8PM Whisky, 54 x 200ml Teku Teku cane spirit, 24 x 200ml Hudson Whisky, and 68 x 200ml Two Keys Whisky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further intensifying the crackdown, the joint team advanced to Champion Mine where they discovered a complete wash plant, a generator, and a submersible pump hidden in the bush. The site was found guarded by two security personnel from Melta Security Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police confirmed the arrest of Douglas Maocha (52) of Marange and Maxwell Mika (39) of Breaside Farm, Chinhoyi. Upon questioning, the guards revealed that the recovered machinery at that specific site belonged to Yung Tech Private Limited Company. A third individual, Peter Makumura of Riverside, Odzi, who is employed as a general hand for Yung Tech, was also taken into custody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three security-related suspects have been detained at ZRP Penhalonga for further investigation. Authorities stated that investigations are in progress as law enforcement continues to trace the Chinese nationals who fled the scene and works to determine the ownership links among the thirteen excavators.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fanuel Chinowaita PENHALONGA, Zimbabwe, 23 April 2026\u2013 A joint security operation targeting rampant illegal riverbed mining along the Mutare River in Penhalonga last week led to the recovery of thirteen heavy-duty excavators abandoned across multiple locations, as well as the arrest of eleven individuals, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has confirmed. According to a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2001"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2005,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2001\/revisions\/2005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}