Six suspects were arrested in the Hoedspruit area last week for the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition following a tip-off from members of the community about planned poaching in the area.
The arrests were part of intelligence-led joint operations across the province during parallel activities in the Lephalale, Mokopane, Driekop and Hoedspruit policing areas which saw a total of 16 arrests made.
In Hoedspruit, the suspects were intercepted and arrested during a stop and search operation after two suspicious motor vehicles, a Mercedes Benz and a Toyota Hilux, were pulled off the road along the R527 close to Kinyonga Reptile Park.
Read: HOEDSPRUIT: Three arrested with illegal firearms and ammunition
One .303 calibre rifle with 29 rounds of ammunition and one silencer were found hidden on the back seat of the Toyota Hilux.
The suspects were found to be the residents of Badplaas and Kanyamazane areas in the Mpumalanga Province.
The two occupants of the Toyota Hilux appeared in court on Thursday, November 22 and were identified as Leseja Peter Maisala (28) and Abednigo Thousand Mosimanga (47). They will appear again today, Thursday November 29.
The four occupants of the Mercedes Benz were released as they could not be linked to the firearm.
At the Stockport Port of Entry in the Tom Burke Policing area outside Lephalale, a 52-year-old man was arrested at the vehicle search point area after he was found in possession of a large amount of money, hidden inside the car he was driving. The cash amount of R600 000. 00 was undeclared by the driver and it was then seized. The driver was immediately arrested for money laundering.
Meanwhile, in the Mokopane Policing area, two suspects aged 30 and 39 were arrested for a business robbery.
Read: HOEDSPRUIT: Three suspected poachers arrested for unlicensed firearm possession
In the Driekop Policing area outside Burgersfort, two suspects aged 24 and 26 were arrested for possession of suspected stolen property.
During the operation, the Police spotted a suspicious Toyota Hilux at Mooihoek village. They stopped it, searched it and recovered rolled copper cables with an estimated value of about R100 000.00. The motor vehicle was also seized.
In another incident in the same area of Driekop, five suspects aged between 26 and 41 were arrested at Ga-Mamphahlane village for possession of stolen copper cables. The value of the recovered copper cables is estimated at R70 000.00.
Police investigations in all these cases are still continuing.
