Crime Combatting operations in an effort to remove crime generators such as firearms in crime ridden areas, once again paid off with the confiscation of two unlicensed firearms and ammunition in similar operations in Riversdale and George respectively.
On Thursday, 30 November 2023 members attached to the Riversdale police followed up information on illegal activities which led them to pounce on a house in Nkinini, Kwanokuthula in Riversdale. The members ensued with a thorough search of the premises and discovered two unlicensed firearms as well as ammunition inside. The members confiscated two firearms, one imitation firearm and 29 rounds ammunition of various calibres. Two occupants found inside the premises were arrested in connection with the seizures.
The pair, a 21-year-old woman and a 28-year-old Lesotho national, remain in police custody, facing charges of possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
The pair are expected to make their first court appearance in the Riversdale Magistrates’ court on Monday, 04 December 2023. The possibility that the suspects could be linked to other crimes committed in the region are being investigated.
In an unrelated incident, on Wednesday, 29 November 2023 George Public Order Police in conjunction with Thembalethu and Pacaltsdorp members followed up leads in a burglary perpetrated in Pacaltsdorp earlier this week. The investigation took the members to a house at Thembalethu where a search of the premises ensued. The members confiscated a firearm part and one round of ammunition, concealed inside. The three occupants aged between, 16 and 27 were arrested.
The trio is expected to appear in the Thembalethu Magistrates’ court on Friday, 01 December 2023 on charges relating to the unlawful possession of firearm parts and ammunition.
The Provincial Commissioner of the Western Cape, Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile, commended the forces for their vigilance to remove firearms from the streets. He said, “firearms in the hands of criminals threatens the safety of communities and these unrelenting efforts forms part of the policing approach of the province to rid communities of illegal firearms. These operations will be maintained throughout the 16 Days of Activism campaign which is currently in full swing as we fight the scourge of Gender-based violence and Femicide”, he concluded.
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