Norwood SAPS under investigation after guns used at a crime scene were traced to their storeroom
NORWOOD – Norwood CPF chair Wayne Preston said this news had devastated the community.
Guns recovered from a crime scene have been linked to Norwood Police Station, according to reports from eNCA.
eNCA alleged that firearms which were meant to be at the Norwood police store were given to armed robbers, with the main suspect in the case committing suicide recently.
The firearms were allegedly used at a crime scene in Brakpan three weeks ago where a policeman was killed and police recovered several firearms, some of which were traced to the Norwood police storeroom, according to eNCA.
Norwood Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson Wayne Preston said the community and the CPF were devastated by this news.
“We take our role in representing the community very seriously and want to assure the community that we are in the process of getting comment from the Norwood station command,” said Preston.
“We will allow this investigation to take its course and will be requesting frequent updates which we will share.”
According to Preston, Norwood Station Commander Colonel Phetole Mahasha was not ready to comment on the matter at this stage as the investigation was still ongoing.
The Gazette had contacted Norwood police for comment, however, they have said they were unable to comment at this stage and referred to matter to the national police.
The spokesperson for the office of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Colonel Katlego Mogale said an enquiry had been opened with the National Priority Violent Crime Investigation into how firearms discovered at an attempted armed robbery were found to be from a SAPS 13 storage unit.
“Currently, investigations are at a sensitive and early stage to make assumptions,” said Mogale.
“When the investigations are concluded, then the DPCI [Hawks] will divulge the circumstances surrounding the enquiry.”
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