Firearms dealer from Durban suspected of arming Western Cape gangs
By Robin-Lee Francke
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Cape Town - The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s (Hawks) National Bureau for Illegal Firearms Control and Priority Violent Crime (NBIFCPVC) from Cape Town, alongside a special task force in Durban, Crime Intelligence and metro police, arrested a firearms dealer on Friday for allegedly supplying firearms to gangs in Cape Town.
In a statement, Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said the 41-year-old gun shop owner was linked to the supplying of firearms through a separate investigation and faces a range of charges.
“The Durban-based firearms dealer was allegedly linked to an illegal supply of firearms through his dealership to criminal gangs in the Western Cape.
“Our success or failure in fighting crime is, to a large extent, dependent on how effectively managed [the Central Firearms Registry (CFR)] is. …Its effectiveness cannot be compromised.” These were the words of then South African Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa, speaking to the media in November 2010 about the management of its CFR, the entity responsible for controlling civilian access to firearms.
Mthethwa went on to say that the “current state of affairs at the CFR is far from what and how it is supposed to be… If we are serious about reducing crime, instead of serving as an additional arsenal to our mission, suffice to say the CFR currently acts as a bottleneck in our crime-fighting initiatives.”
4 arrested for possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition in Limpopo
By Jonisayi Maromo
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GIYANI - Four alleged illegal immigrants have been arrested for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition in Giyani, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in Limpopo said on Sunday.
The four suspects, aged between 18 and 35, were arrested on Saturday, Limpopo Hawks spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke said.
“The Hawks serious organised crime investigation [unit] received a tip-off about two suspicious vehicles in the Giyani CBD and it was followed up. The Hawks, assisted by Mopani district crime prevention members, the Giyani local criminal records centre, highway patrol members, and Giyani crime prevention members started to search for the vehicles and they were spotted in the area.
Firearms destroyed as three days left for current amnesty period to expire 29 January 2021 - 07:56 Police destroy 35,000 firearms which were surrendered to them or which were confiscated by police during their crime fighting operations, at Cape Gate Wire and Steel Manufacturer in Vanderbijlpark. Image: SAPS
The police commissioner of operational response services Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has overseen the destruction of 35,069 firearms which were either confiscated by the police, voluntary surrendered to or forfeited to the state.
The destruction took place at Cape Gate Wire and Steel Manufacturer in Vanderbijlpark in Gauteng.
The firearms destroyed on Thursday included 9,918 which were voluntarily surrendered during the 2019/2020 firearm amnesty period from December 1 2019 to May 31 2020.
SAPS destroy 35 069 firearms either confiscated or handed in during amnesty period
By IOL Reporter
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DURBAN - POLICE have destroyed more than 35 000 firearms that were either confiscated by the police, voluntary surrendered to or forfeited to the State. The destruction took place at Cape Gate Wire and Steel Manufactures in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng and was overseen by Divisional Commissioner of Operational Response Services Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
National police spokesperson, Colonel Brenda Muridili, said the proliferation of illegal firearms has therefore been dealt a decisive blow with cooperation from the public as a total of 9918 of the destroyed firearms were voluntarily surrendered during the 2019/2020 firearm amnesty period - December 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020.