• A man has been arrested after police officers caught him in possession of raw gold worth R500 000.
• It is alleged that he was preparing to smuggle it into Gauteng.
• He has been also been charged with corruption after he allegedly offered investigators money to release him.

A 41-year-old man has been arrested after police officers caught him in possession of raw gold, with an estimated value of R500 000, in Pongola, northern KwaZulu-Natal.

According to the Hawks, the Richards Bay Serious Organised Crime Unit and Pongola police received a tip-off about a suspect who was allegedly in possession of raw gold which he was reportedly preparing to smuggle into Gauteng.

"A joint operation was swiftly conducted and the suspect was arrested and charged," Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said on Tuesday.

He said the value of the seized raw gold was estimated to be R500 000.

During the preliminary investigation, investigators found that the seized gold had been extracted from Klipwal Gold Mine in Pongola.

"The suspect was charged for corruption after he offered the investigators money to set him free," Mhlongo said.

He is expected to make his first court appearance at the Pongola Magistrate's court on Wednesday.

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