Cape Town - Police have arrested seven suspects for allegedly being in possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition in the OR Tambo district, Eastern Cape during operations.
The intelligence operations started at the end of February until Tuesday this week, and its main aim was to curb the proliferation of illegal firearms and simultaneously combat incidents of mass shootings in OR Tambo district.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli said search warrants were executed and in one, information was intercepted of a vehicle that was travelling with unlicensed firearms.
Nkohli said they arrested a 63-year-old man at a house in Jambeni section in Lusikisiki that was raided and searched, where a 9mm pistol with live rounds of ammunition were seized.
In another incident police also recovered a 9mm pistol with ammunition from a house in Lusikisiki, where a 37-year-old man was arrested.
Nkohli said a house in Mhlakulo location in Lower Ngwara A/A, Tsolo was raided and searched, where a 9mm Norinco was recovered and a 26-year-old man was arrested for being in possession of an unlicensed firearm.
He further added that police also swooped in on a house in Diya Street, Slovo Park, Mthatha, where two magazines of a R5 rifle were seized with ammunition and a 40-year-old man was arrested for possession of unlicensed ammunition.
Meanwhile, acting provincial commissioner, Major General Zithulele Dladla lauded members for their successful operations, and added that, "We are going to intensify these operations and also infiltrate into other problematic districts in order to remove firearms, which are in the hands of the wrong people.
“We also urge family relatives to voluntarily hand over firearms that were previously owned by their deceased relatives to the nearest police station.
“We noticed that in some of the houses that were raided, police seized several firearms, whose owners died a long time ago, and those were seized without arresting anyone,” Dladla added.
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