Thembinkosi Vilakazi (39) of Koppie Alleen has been arrested and charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. It is alleged that on May 16 at around midnight, whilst police were attending to a complaint of fighting at Koppie Alleen, they noticed the suspect hiding something under a bench. Upon further investigation Warrant Officer Ntuli found a 9mm Norinco pistol with two live rounds. The unlicensed firearm had belonged to the suspects’ late father. The suspect appeared before the Dannhauser Magistrates’ Court on May 19. The case is still undergoing further investigation.

Siyabonga Lushaba (19) from Springbok Farm was convicted on April 3 by the Newcastle Regional Court on counts of possession of two unlicensed firearms and two live rounds, found at his residence on July 15, 2013. The accused claims that the firearms were brought to him for safekeeping by an unknown male, along with R800. The accused has been declared unfit to possess a firearm, and was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for the firearms and six months for the ammunition, with the sentences to run concurrently.