Tip off leads to two arrests
The Rapid Rail Police Unit arrested two men last Friday morning for possession of illegal ammunition as well as having an unlicensed firearm.
POLICE received a tip off regarding an illegal firearm and ammunition in KwaDabeka which led to the arrest of two men.
At about 2.30am on Friday 26 September, members of Rapid Rail Police Unit were patrolling around Pinetown and Marianhill when they were told about a possible illegal firearm and ammunition in the area. They followed up on the information which led them to a house in Clermont.
“The house was searched and a 9mm pistol with three live rounds were found. A 23-year-old man was arrested and charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition,” said Captain Thulani Zwane, provincial spokesman for the SAPS. On the same night the team followed up on another lead which led them to Mawelele in Chatsworth. “A 34-year-old man was searched and found in possession of ammunition with a magazine. “He could not give explanation about the ammunition and was arrested and charged with possession of ammunition without a license.
The the one man appeared in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Friday 26 September and was charged with the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. The man arrested in Chatworth appeared in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court. Both cases were remanded and the two men will remain in custody during the investigation.
The Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, commended the good work done by the unit. “The recovered firearm will be sent for ballistic tests to establish if it was used in any other crimes in the province. We will also establishe if the arrested men are linked to any murders or robberies in the province where firearms were used,” she said.
