The South African Police Service (SAPS) has permanently removed 54 517 firearms from circulation since April 2022 through a firearms destruction process.
On 6 July 2023, over 15 700 of these firearms which were either seized during crime prevention operations, voluntarily surrendered or forfeited to the State were also destroyed in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng.
The process to demolish the firearms was overseen by the National Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola.
All firearms that were destroyed had been subjected to Ballistic testing to determine if they had been utilised in any commission of a crime.
The SAPS confirms that all firearms have been cleared.
Through Operation Shanela, police have to date recovered and/or confiscated close to 800 firearms since the inception of these high density operations.
The SAPS will continue to intensify operations to detect and remove illegal firearms and ammunition from the streets of South Africa, as they pose a threat to the safety and security of the inhabitants of this country.
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