Police have arrested another two people for the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition during a Kagiso Police crime-prevention operation held on Sunday, 23 August.

This brings the total number of people arrested for being in possession of a firearm and ammunition in one day to three. A 17-year-old was arrested later that day in Sinqobile for the same offence.

According to Captain Solomon Sibiya, Kagiso Police spokesperson, police were conducting their crime-prevention duties when they spotted a suspicious-looking green Toyota Conquest with two occupants in a street in Tshepisong.

Sibiya said once police ordered the vehicle to stop, one of the occupants fled but was apprehended.

The vehicle was ransacked and an unlicensed firearm as well as a magazine with two rounds of ammunition were found hidden under a carpet at the back seat. Preliminary investigations revealed that the firearm was stolen in Roodepoort earlier this month.

“Neither the suspects wanted to take responsibility but instead they shifted the blame to each other. They were both eventually arrested and charged with being in the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.”

The drama, however, did not stop there. Sibiya said the uncle of both the detained men arrived at the police station and tried to bribe a police officer to have them released. He was also arrested.

“Police will also investigate if the firearm was used in the commission of other crimes after it was stolen in Roodepoort,” Sibiya said.

Brigadier Thema Maduna, the Kagiso Police station commander applauded the police members for their diligence and level of discipline owing to the fact that they refused to be tempted into taking a bribe, but instead arrested the uncle.

Firearms in the wrong hands are a serious threat to all law-abiding citizens. They are used in property and business-related robberies, and gender-based violence incidents,” the Brigadier concluded.