Boeremag: Brits woman held
2003-03-12 18:35
Pretoria - A Brits woman was arrested on Wednesday in the latest police swoop to hunt for individuals involved in an alleged plot to overthrow the government.
Anita du Plessis, 41, appeared in the Brits magistrate's court in connection with the illegal possession of ammunition, police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said.
Du Plessis was released on her own recognisance and ordered to appear in court again on March 26.
She is the wife of Jacobus Christoffel "Rooikoos" du Plessis, who applied for bail on Wednesday after his arrest in April last year for his alleged involvement in the plot.
Wednesday's police operation, dubbed Hopper IV, focused on 25 people in Limpopo, North West, Free State, Gauteng, Northern Cape, and Mpumalanga.
De Beer said not all 25 individuals could be directly linked to the alleged coup plot.
"There were people who we felt could assist us in our investigation. The objective of the swoop was the follow up information.
"The focus was on people about whom we have received information during the course of our investigation into a plan to overthrow the government."
Treason
The exercise was a continuation of three previous Hopper operations, which resulted in the arrest of several rightwingers.
A total of 23 rightwingers have so far been apprehended in the Hopper raids and other police investigations.
They are to stand trial in the Pretoria High Court on charges of treason and terrorism in May. Five of the men have been granted bail so far.
Since November, police have been conducting operations to flush out rightwing extremists after last year's bombings in Gauteng, the Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal.
At least some of the blasts have been blamed on the rightwing Boeremag organisation, which allegedly had plans to overthrow the government.
Previous Hopper operations included raids on farms and homes in several provinces.
De Beer said more details on Wednesday's swoop would probably be released on Thursday.
- SAPA