Cape Town - Members attached to Provincial Extortion Task Team acted on information of a firearm being kept at a premises in Cross Ross, Nyanga on Sunday.
Members stormed the premises and confronted the 64-year-old owner, who co-operated and granted the members entry to the facilities and permission to continue their search.
According to the police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie, members confiscated a 9mm Norinco pistol with four rounds of ammunition that the owner fetched from a kitchen cupboard and handed over to the members.
“This resulted in the arrest of the owner, who faces a charge of being in possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition,” Pojie said.
In an unrelated incident on the same day, members deployed under Operation Restore followed up information of occupants of a blue Golf that was visiting mobile stores under suspicious circumstances.
Pojie added that the police members in search of the car and its occupants spotted the car driving along Intsikizi Street, Crossroads, and on seeing the police approaching, the driver ran off.
“The members gave chase and manage to pull over the vehicle shortly thereafter. A search ensued which led to the finding of a .45 revolver, loaded with six rounds of ammunition,"
“The occupants could not provide any proof of legality and were arrested on a charge of the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition,” Pojie said.
He said that they arrested the three occupants between the ages 32 and 35, and seized the Golf as well as a small amount of cash.
He confirmed that all the involved suspects will appear in the Athlone Magistrates’ court, once charged.
Meanwhile, the provincial management commended the members for their “continued commitment to rid our streets from the scourge of illegal firearms that is killing our citizens”.
"The proliferation of illegal firearms in the Western Cape remains a priority, with various teams embarking on crime-combating operations during the weekend which yielded positive results," provincial police said.
IOL