James Neo Tshoaeli, a Lesotho national known as Tiger, has been accused by other illegal miners of being a ringleader who was allegedly responsible for assaults, tortures and deaths underground, as well as keeping food from others, the South African Police Service said.
South African police launch hunt for alleged illegal mining ‘kingpin’ Escape of James Neo Tshoaeli, a Lesotho national known as Tiger, described as an ‘embarrassment’.
South African police are hunting an alleged “kingpin” of illegal mining after he escaped from custody following a rescue operation last week in which 78 bodies were brought out of an illicit goldmine.
In late 2023, police launched Operation Vala Umgodi (Plug the Hole) to try to stamp out illegal mines across South Africa’s north-eastern mining belt.
Tshoaeli was neither booked into custody nor admitted at any local hospitals for medical care, police said, describing his escape as an “embarrassment”.
