KWAZULU-NATAL police seized 146 firearms and a total of 1219 rounds of ammunition and arrested 140 suspects for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, during various operations conducted in the province between 1 to 31 July.
Brigadier Jay Naicker from provincial SAPS said police focused their operations in areas where inter-group conflict, stock theft and taxi violence were prevalent.
“Much of the information provided to police was from ordinary citizens concerned about crime. We urge citizens to continue reporting information with regards to illegal firearms to Crime Stop,” he said.
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A total of 129 pistols, five shotguns, nine rifles and three homemade firearms were recovered in these operations.
“All the recovered firearms will be subjected to ballistic tests to establish if they were used in any other crimes in the province. A concerted effort is being made by police to step up operations aimed at ridding our communities of illegal firearms,” he said.
Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen Khombinkosi Jula, commended various cluster commanders in the province for their contributions to eradicate the proliferation of illegal firearms in the province.
“I have noted the steady rate in which firearms are being seized in this province and I am encouraged as this will eventually contribute to improving the crime situation. We need to maintain this performance and ensure that criminals are disarmed, as firearms do contribute to many violent crimes that are prevalent in society,” he said.
Report crime to Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
