As part of a mission to rid the community of dangerous weapons, members of the Reiger Park SAPS arrested a 47-year-old Ethiopian for being in possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
The man, who runs a spaza shop in Road Reserve informal settlement, was arrested on November 8.
This is after he reportedly threatened his landlord with the firearm, according to Reiger Park police.
The accused reportedly had an argument with the owner of the property where he runs his small business before he pointed the gun at the complainant.
The victim then called the police, and when the officers, Const Joy Nthekang and Sgt Maxwell Siweya, arrived at the address, they caught the man with a 9mm Norinco pistol with one magazine and six rounds of ammunition.
The gun’s serial number was filed off.
While at the scene, the accused allegedly called his friend who arrived and with a promise of R500 apparently tried to bribe the police into releasing the suspect. The police warned the friend against his unlawful tactics, but he persistently pleaded with the cops to accept the bribe.
The members subsequently arrested the briber for his corrupt behaviour. He and his friend are expected to appear in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court this week.
The Reiger Park SAPS’ approach is aimed at removing all illegal weapons within their policing precinct. On average, they remove at least two dangerous weapons from the street per month.
* The two police officers involved were also part of the team which worked round the clock and recovered the multiple weapons that were stolen from Sinqobile Security Services in 2017.
The stolen weapons consisted of nine firearms, nine magazines and 44 live ammunition.
The station commander, Lt Col Paul Mathebula, applauded his members for the recovery and resisting the bribe. He issued a stern warning to would-be bribers who think they can use money to get away with their criminal behaviour.
