While on patrols in the Cleveland policing precinct, officers from SAPS Johannesburg East Cluster Crime Prevention arrested four suspects on charges including possession of unlicensed firearms on February 3.
The four, between the ages of 25 and 33, were arrested after police noted a suspicious-looking vehicle driving around in the Cyrildene area shortly before 11pm.
The suspects appeared briefly at the Joburg Magistrate’s Court on February 5 on charges of possession of live ammunition and possession of a vehicle driving with false number plates.
The false number plates had been placed over the vehicle’s original number plates.
“Officers spotted a black BMW at the corner of Derrick Avenue and Marcia Street,” said the spokesperson of Cleveland SAPS, Capt Johan Jordaan, indicating that police followed the vehicle for a short distance before stopping and conducting a search on it.
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“The vehicle and its occupants looked suspicious and after testing the registration number officers discovered that it belonged to a white Chevrolet. They then followed the vehicle and stopped it. The vehicle’s occupants were questioned and a revolver with six live rounds of ammunition was recovered from one of the men.”
Jordaan added, “A second revolver loaded with five live rounds of ammunition was also recovered. The man whose possession it was found in had a further six rounds of live ammunition on his person. He was, however, able to produce a valid firearm licence. The case will be investigated by detectives to determine if the firearms may have been used in other crimes.”
