DURBAN - A 39-year-old man is appearing in the uMlazi Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
He was arrested on Tuesday.
Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said the suspect was arrested by members of the Durban Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit and Durban Public Order Police.
“It is alleged that members received information about a suspect who was in possession of an unlicensed firearm. They proceeded to the said house and requested permission to search. Upon searching the bedroom, a 9mm pistol with 16 rounds of ammunition was found.”
Mhlongo said the firearm will be sent for ballistics tests to ascertain if it had been used in the commission of any crime.
This suspect’s arrest came on the same day Police Minister Bheki Cele told the media that police had strong leads in the killing of more than 10 people in uMlazi.
Thirteen people were gunned down in two separate shootings in the township’s U and W sections in five days.
“We are looking for somebody. There are teams that are specifically dedicated to working 24 hours. We have a specific name. In the second scene, we have people of interest because we now know that one of the people killed was a witness in a certain case,” said Cele.
In the first incident, six people were gunned down in U section in uMlazi on August 29 while on September 1, seven were shot and killed in W section.
Daily News