Guns, explosives found next to crèche

According to Springs police spokesperson, Captain Johannes Ramphora, the police followed up on information they received about firearms reportedly hidden in a shack, Springs Advertiser reported.

He said occupants of the shack, believed to be illegal miners, fled the scene on foot and managed to escape when police arrived at the scene.

After using force to gain entry into the shack, two firearms with 38 rounds of ammunition in a shack as well as an R1 rifle with 17 live rounds of ammunition wrapped in a blanket and hidden under a carpet.

Among the rubble in the room two socks that containing a 9mm Baretta pistol, 13 live rounds of ammunition and a Browning firearm with eight live rounds of ammunition were also discovered.

Nine penduka bins, used for illegal mining, were also found on the premises while detonators and explosives were found inside the shack.

“Making this discovery next to a crèche where children are supposed to be protected during the day is not safe to the environment they live in,” Ramphora said.

The discovery of the large weapons cache comes a week after 15 people were murdered at Grootvlei Mine Shaft Four, east of Johannesburg. The murders are believed to have been linked to illegal mining in the area.

“A possibility of gang fights within the ranks of the illegal miners might have been the motive for the killings,” police spokesperson Captain Tsekiso Mofokeng said at the time, adding all the victims were shot dead with different calibre firearms.

– Caxton News Service