Police have recovered high-calibre firearms believed to have been used in the killing of 18 people during a mass shooting at Ngobozana village in Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape.

SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe says through intelligence and meticulous detective work, the high-calibre firearms, including three AK47 automatic rifles and a 243 Steyr Mannlicher rifle, were recovered last night.

Mathe says preliminary investigations indicate that the firearms were moved to another location after the mass killing.

“The high-calibre firearms have been taken in for ballistics testing to determine and confirm that they were indeed used in the commission of the crime, and to also determine which other crime scenes can be linked to them,” Mathe says.

Additionally, two more suspects were arrested after they were found in possession of the rifles. The pair was arrested in Flagstaff in the Eastern Cape.

Briefing media yesterday, national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola commended South Africans for their overwhelming support in providing information on the whereabouts of the suspects linked to the mass murders.

Masemola confirmed that in less than 24 hours, from the time SAPS issued an alert about the wanted suspects, communities rallied together and informed police of their whereabouts. All four suspects are now in police custody. – SAnews.gov.za