Elukwatini man appears in court for stowing 106 firearms
A 67-year-old man recently appeared in the Chief Albert Luthuli Magistrate's Court after 106 guns and over 1 700 rounds of ammunition were allegedly seized from his possession.
An Elukwatini man, Gugu Boy Elias Mnisi (67), was charged with the possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, as well as for contravention of the Firearm Act of South Africa, after 106 guns and over 1 700 rounds of of ammunition were allegedly found in his possession.
Mnisi was released on R6 000 bail when he appeared in the Chief Albert Luthuli Magistrate’s Court on Friday January 19. The matter was postponed to April 10.
A provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli, said a multidisciplinary team of various police units and officials from the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) led to the arrest of Mnisi at a house in Elukwatini on Thursday afternoon, January 18.
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Mdhluli said information was received by the law enforcement agencies that many firearms were being stored by a man at a house in Elukwatini, and that he was part of a certain security company based in Pretoria, but was suspected to be non-compliant.
The multidisciplinary team co-ordinated their resources then came up with a plan to ascertain if he is compliant to the PSIRA regulations.
He said a search warrant was obtained and upon arrival at the premises, Mnisi was found at the house and law enforcement proceeded to search it.
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This is when the authorities allegedly discovered 106 firearms as well as 1 704 round of ammunition.
Among the weapons found in the house there were 14 rifles, eight shotguns and 84 pistols, with ammunition.
The ammunition included 718 9mm pistol rounds, 921 rifle rounds, and 65 shotgun shells.
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“It is further reported that the firearms were not kept inside a safe, but stored underneath a bed while some were kept inside the wardrobe,” said Mdhluli.
He said the authorities also discovered that licences for some of the firearms, which were allegedly owned by the certain security company, had already expired. Allegedly, Mnisi could not account for about 20 firearms.
“In addition, the team members established that he did not have licences for four pistols which had ammunition, hence he was arrested and charged accordingly. Part of the probe is to understand how he got hold of these firearms,” said Mdhluli.
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He said the firearms as well as ammunition were confiscated for further investigation.
The confiscated firearms will undergo ballistic testing to determine whether they were previously used in the commission of crimes elsewhere.
“At this stage the police cannot rule out the possibility of adding additional charges against the suspect in relation to contravention of the Firearms Control Act,” he said.
