Man behind bars due to illegal guns

A local man (43) was arrested for possession of illegal ammunition and firearms. He is expected to appear at the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court today.

According to the provincial police spokesman, Brig Leonard Hlathi, the SAPS received an anonymous tip-off and started with an investigation in collaboration with Bossies Community Justice.

Hlathi said upon their arrival they found the man, who cannot be named until he has appeared in court, and his mother on the farm.

According to police there were 121 firearms, of which 109 were not registered to his name. “He is facing charges relating to the Firearms Control Act, because he kept firearms without licences as well as ammunition.”

ALSO READ: Local tool hire company outmanoeuvres fraudsters

Hlathi added that these charges also include the weapons being stored in an illegal manner.The ammunition was stored in what appeared to be military-style munition crates in the man’s home.

“The firearms were kept in the wrong way. This is not how we keep firearms,” Hlathi said. The ammunition and firearms were confiscated to be counted and for further investigation. The total number of rounds of ammunition were tallied at 12 712.

Sources close to the investigation said there was “a handful” of antique or collectable firearms.
Some had permits in the man’s deceased father’s name. It was still unclear to the police as to how and why the firearms were acquired.

“We cannot disclose too much information at this stage, as we are still busy with the investigation.” Hlathi added that not all the firearms has serial numbers.

According to the national crime statistics, in 2019 there have been 35 instances of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition in Nelspruit.

This outcome shows an increase when compared to the 2018 stats, which shows that there were 28 instances and in 2017 there were 26 instances.

ALSO READ: Meridian Karino celebrates diversity in style