One suicide vest found among arms in Randburg

Police recovered a small arsenal in a storage site on Bram Fischer Drive near Dover Street in Randburg CBD on Monday, reports the Randburg Sun.

Gauteng Police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said, “The entire stash has been taken by our forensics team to Pretoria for documentation and to be examined.”

He could not confirm how old the items recovered are but only that some looked very old and some appeared to be more recent.

“We are currently in the process of interviewing the old owner of the building as well as people who live in the near vicinity.”

In estimation the items recovered were:

Firearms:
R5 x 1
AK47 x 7
Uzi x 1
Revolver x 12
M16 x 1
Rifle Magazines x 31
Pistol Magazines x 31

Bombs and Explosives:
10 Kg of Plastic Explosives
60 x Mortar Rockets
6 x M26 Hand grenades
3 x Detonators
1 x Suicide Vests

The suicide vest according to Masondo looks very old and could not confirm if it was intended to be used in a terror attack.

Live Rounds:
9mm x 1000
AK 47 x 3000
R5 x 500
M16 x 200

“We were first alerted to the building by construction workers who noticed a suspicious bag,” said Masondo.

Inside the bag were about 60 mortar bombs.

A K9 unit and bomb squad were called to search the building. “We went into the basement and that’s when we found [the other weapons].”

The police’s forensic team were still on scene last night counting the weapons and ammunition.

Reports initially emerged of a bomb scare.

It has since come to light that the reason for the major police presence was a firearm and old explosive material recovery operation in an unused storage site on Dover Street.

– Caxton News Service