Police recover 89 firearms

KwaZulu-Natal police recovered 68 pistols, 10 rifles, four shotguns, seven home-made firearms and 1 418 rounds of ammunition from March 13 to 20.

This was revealed by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi in a recent statement.

Mkhwanazi said the continuous police operations in the province resulted in the recovery of 89 firearms and the arrests of 2 252 suspects for crimes ranging from murder, attempted murder and robberies.

“Thirty four suspects were arrested for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. Over 2 500 tablets of an assortment of drugs, including mandrax, heroin and ecstacy were also recovered during the operations. Among the arrested suspects, 757 were nabbed for contact crimes, 47 suspects were put behind bars in connection with murder cases, 32 suspects were arrested in relation with cases of attempted murder and 49 suspected robbers were nabbed for robberies with aggravating circumstances, house and business robberies as well as carjacking. On cases perpetrated against women and children, 64 suspects were busted for rape and 49 people were also arrested as a result of transgression of the Domestic Violence Act,” said Mkhwanazi.

The provincial commissioner commended police officers for the successful execution of the operations.

“We had a busy week but dedicated police officers ensured that criminals felt their presence on the streets. The removal of 89 firearms from the wrong hands will definitely prevent some murders which could have been committed using those firearms. We have a responsibility of ensuring the safety and security of residents and we shall continue to operationalise intelligence and infiltrate crime-ridden areas to remove all criminal elements from our communities,” said Mkhwanazi.

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