Police seize more than 500 unlicensed firearms in Gauteng this month

Police in Gauteng, in partnership with other law enforcement agencies and partners, have arrested more than 260 suspects for possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition so far this month.

More than 500 unlicensed firearms and 6,000 rounds of ammunition were recovered.

“These successes are as a result of the province's multidisciplinary Safer Festive Season campaign, Operation O Kae Molao, routine crime prevention patrols, stop-and-searches and community tip-offs, police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo said.

On Friday, police in Kliptown, Soweto, arrested a 25-year-old man for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition after a routine crime prevention patrol in Pimville.

In another incident, on December 23, an off-duty member of Ekurhuleni flying squad arrested four suspects in Benoni and recovered an unlicensed firearm and ammunition found in their possession.

Masondo said the recovered firearms would be sent for ballistic testing to establish whether they were linked to serious crimes. 

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