The Ivory Park SAPS station head has welcomed a 15-year prison sentence that was handed down on a Tembisa man for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
According to the Ivory Park SAPS communication officer, Captain Bernard Matimulane, the 34-year-old man, Innocent Nhlanhla Tshabalala, was first arrested for possession of the firearm in 2012, but he violated his bail condition when he failed to appear in court in 2013.
“He had been at large since then until a team of detectives from Ivory Park found him in Tembisa last year. He has been in custody since then. He was convicted and sentenced two weeks ago by the Tembisa Magistrate’s Court for a total of 18 years in prison, three of which will run concurrently with the 15 years,” said Matimulane.
Ivory Park SAPS Brigadier David Mbongeni Ngcobo, the station commander of the Ivory Park SAPS, has expressed his satisfaction regarding the sentence, and further applauded Sergeant Sandile Majuda, the lead tracking and arresting officer, for his tireless efforts in arresting Tshabalala.
He warned any potential criminal to take heed of what happened to Tshabalala.
“It is important that people out there are made aware that we, as the SAPS, take illegal possession of firearms very seriously, and we are prepared to go all out in ensuring that perpetrators thereof are made to account for such deeds,” said Ngcobo.
He further requested the public to report any suspicion of possession of firearms, or to report any other crime, to the police and the police are prepared to check the legality or illegality of that possession.
