Police, in their continued battle against crime in the province have once again proved that no one is above the law when they arrested a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) member for illegal possession of ammunition in Phalaborwa on Saturday.
Leon Santos and his alleged accomplice Boye Sambo appeared in the Phalaborwa Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Santos was granted bail of R1 000 and will appear in court again on 10 March. Sambo was remanded in custody and will appear in court again on Monday for bail application.
Provincial Police Head of Corporate Communication Motlafela Mojapelo said Sambo was seen walking along a street in Phalaborwa carrying a bag when Police stopped and searched him. “We found 663 rounds of live ammunition which also led Police to Santos’ house where 17 rounds of
9 mm ammunition were found. Both are facing a charge of possession of illegal ammunition,” Mojapelo said.
Meanwhile Police succeeded in arresting seven suspects and confiscating several tools used to gain access to buildings during burglaries after following up information received from the community last Thursday evening.
“After receiving the tip-off a special operation was immediately established and composed of the Provincial Tracking Team, Polokwane Tactical Response Team (TRT) and provincial detectives. Two vehicles were observed and stopped just outside Burgersfort. Seven suspects were apprehended and we recovered 14 station signal jammer devices, two 9 mm pistols, two angle grinders, a compressor, a jackhammer, 18 grinder cutting discs, two electric extension cords, five balaclavas, five pairs of hand gloves and a dust mask. The two vehicles were also impounded,” Provincial Police Spokesperson Moatshe Ngoepe said.
He added that the suspects are facing charges of conspiracy to commit business robbery, housebreaking and theft, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, possession of housebreaking equipment, possession of jamming signal devices and possession of suspected stolen motor vehicles.
They were expected to appear in the Burgersfort Magistrate’s Court on Friday but an update of the outcome was not available. Investigations continue.
Story: RC Myburgh
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Featured photos: Six of the seven suspects who were arrested after being intercepted by Police in Burgersfort. Insert: The six hundred and sixty-three live rounds of ammunition found and confiscated in Phalaborwa. (Photos: Supplied)
