A 40-year-old man was arrested by the SAPS Ekurhuleni Task Team in Ivory Park on the morning of July 23 after police recovered nine unlicensed firearms, a cache of ammunition and four stolen vehicles.

According to SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Maxwell Mabunda, the arrest followed an intelligence-driven operation linked to the investigation of a business robbery in Kempton Park.

“The team was following up information on a Kempton Park business robbery case, which led them to Ebony Park, where they found the firearms and arrested the suspect,” said Mabunda.

Further searches at the property led to the recovery of four vehicles reported stolen.

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The recovered items included five AK-47 rifles, two 9mm pistols, two revolvers, four vehicles (a Mercedes-Benz, a BMW and two VW Polos), a large quantity of ammunition, magazines and several number plates.

Mabunda said police had been tracking the suspect for some time. Although investigators initially struggled to establish the suspect’s whereabouts, intelligence eventually led officers to an area that had been identified as a key location in the investigation, resulting in the arrest.

The Ekurhuleni District Commissioner, Major General Anna Sithole, commended the task team for the successful operation and the recovery of the firearms and stolen vehicles.

The recovered firearms will undergo ballistic testing to determine whether they were used in the commission of other crimes.