Police will remain in the area as they monitor gang hotspots on the Cape Flats.
An intelligence-driven operation has led police to a house at Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain, where they discovered an arms cache on Monday.
Brigadier Novela Potelwa said police have been focusing on identified gang hotspots on the Cape Flats.
During Monday’s operation, police discovered 19 firearms, an assortment of 1 500 rounds of ammunition, three gun safes, 26 magazines, stun grenade, silencer and shooting practice target board.
The illegal firearms and ammunition were concealed in cooler boxes and safes in the apartment.
While no arrests have been made yet, detectives are questioning several people.
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“The find is believed to be part of an orchestrated plan to perpetuate gang violence that is currently afflicting several communities in Cape Town,” said Potelwa.
“The firearms will be sent for ballistic testing as part of the ongoing investigation. The targeted operations are set to continue until the affected areas have been stabilised.”
Who is funding this?
Although Western Cape provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile, hailed the success as a step in the right direction, he noted that the discovery was a sign that the police still had more work to do in the area.
“Any firearm off the streets of Cape Town means a lot because firearms are the weapon of choice in murder and attempted murder cases recorded in gang violence shooting incidents,” said Patekile.
He said that the place they raided was a three-bedroom apartment. It only had a bed and no cooking utensils or other household items.
“It appears as though it has been used as a storage facility. Police found a shooting practice target with bullet holes only in the head and chest. We have been seeing that people here at Mitchells Plain have been shot in the head, so now we’re seeing that this is a planned thing where people do target shooting practice,” Patekile told Newzroom Afrika.
“Who is sponsoring that? Who is behind all this? Because we know some of the big guys have been arrested and are inside. But we’re seeing that the shootings are still continuing and we’re seeing these guns in a quiet area.”
Mitchells Plain crimes
On Friday last week, police arrested a 23-year-old man in connection with a shooting incident in front of the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 25 August.
The suspect allegedly killed one person and wounded another.
The incident was captured in a video and circulated widely on social media platforms.
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Also on Friday, the Mitchells Plain Regional Court sentenced Matthew Yu to 27 years in prison for murder, attempted murder and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
On 20 February 2019, 18-year-old Ruwayda van Rheede was with friends when gang members fired several gunshots at the occupants of a residence in Lentegeur.
She was transported to a nearby hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.
On 3 July, several shooting incidents in Mitchells Plain left five people killed and seven others injured.
Police searched a total of 43 identified gang houses following the shootings. At one house, a licensed 9mm Norinco pistol and ammunition were confiscated.
Five firearms and an assortment of ammunition were confiscated. Seven suspects aged between 17 and 46 were arrested for possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of a prohibited firearm and possession of prohibited ammunition.
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Fourteen suspects aged between 20 and 39 were arrested for murder and attempted murder.
“While the areas afflicted by shooting incidents are not out of the woods yet, police continue making their presence felt through targeted deployments,” said Potelwa.
“It is envisaged that deployments will remain in identified areas until calm is restored. A sincere plea is made to communities to cooperate with police officials deployed in their areas in the effort to create safer communities.”
