Three men were arrested after police recovered weapons and ammunition in the N12 informal settlement on May 12.
The SAPS Trio Task Team and the Crime Prevention Team found two R5 rifles, two shotguns, a revolver, a pellet gun and more than 150 bullets.
Gauteng police spokesperson Capt Kay Makhubele said the Crime Prevention Team saw three suspicious men they believed to be illegal miners carrying a bag.
As the police approached them they ran in different directions, one even jumping into a nearby dam.
“The Trio Task Team was called for back-up and the man who jumped into the water was arrested and found in possession of a revolver,” said Makhubele.
“This led the police to the informal settlement where two more suspects were arrested and more firearms and ammunition were recovered.”
Makhubele said the search for the other two men who ran away is underway.
The confiscated firearms will undergo forensic examination and ballistic testing to determine whether they were used in the commission of crime.
This recovery brought the total number of firearms seized by the police in Ekurhuleni within 24 hours to 15 and ammunition to 200.
Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela commended the commitment of the police to getting these weapons off the street.
The suspects were scheduled to appear in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court.
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