A search and seizure operation which was conducted by police officers who are members of the Provincial Operational Response Services (ORS), Public Order Policing (POP) officers from Empangeni and Crime Intelligence officers has resulted in the recovery of three firearms and the arrest of one suspect in the early hours of Tuesday, 19 November 2024.
The intelligence-driven operation was conducted at Dondotha where a 30-year-old suspect was arrested after he was found in possession of a firearm with 14 rounds of ammunition. Investigations revealed that the firearm belongs to the police service and was not issued to any officer. There are no records indicating that the firearm was reported missing or stolen. Investigations are underway to determine how the firearm ended in the hands of the suspect.
The operation continued to a homestead in Dondotha where a firearm with 15 rounds of ammunition was found wrapped with a t-shirt and was hidden on a couch inside an unlocked room. The firearm, licenced to a 38-year-old man was seized for reasons of non-compliance with the Firearms Control Act.
A search at another house also led to the recovery of a firearm with eight rounds of ammunition. The firearm was seized, also for non-compliance with the Firearms Control Act. The owner of the firearm had a licence which expired in 2018 and had no safe in his house. The firearms will be subjected to ballistic testing to ascertain if they were used in commission of crimes.
The arrested suspect was scheduled to appear in the KwaMbonambi Periodical Court on Tuesday, 19 November 2024.