Police arrested four soldiers at Matjhabeng Mine’s Kudu mine shaft outside Welkom in the Free State after the men said police deployed them there.
Brig. Police spokesman Motantsi Makhele said the gold mine’s security guards called for police assistance after the men entered the mining area illegally.
Police questioned the men and said they were deployed by the police at the mine.
The men drove in white pickups with military license plates.
Makhele said police searched the two vehicles and found military uniforms and plain number plates.
He says the vehicles do not belong to the military.
The military police were called in and they confirmed that the soldiers had not been deployed at the mine.
The men were arrested on charges of conspiring to commit a crime.
Makhele says they will appear in court soon.
