Gauteng police confiscate 280 firearms in two weeks

Gauteng police arrested more than 120 suspects and recovered more than 280 firearms and about 8,000 rounds of ammunition between November 1 and 15.

With other law-enforcement agencies, they made the arrests during O Kae Molao operations, crime-prevention patrols, stop-and-searches and through tip-offs.

“Members of Johannesburg central police arrested a 45-year-old suspect in the early hours of this morning for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

“The members were reportedly out on a routine crime-prevention patrol when they detected three suspicious-looking individuals walking in town [just after midnight]. A stop-and-search was conducted, which led to the recovery of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition,” police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Sello said.

In another incident, police in Ivory Park arrested a 36-year-old on Tuesday and recovered an unlicensed firearm and ammunition after a tip-off.

All the recovered firearms will be tested to establish whether they are linked to crimes.

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