A 37-year-old mother and 20-year-old son were arrested for being in possession of a cache of firearms and ammunition at a Mistake Farm homestead near Umzinto on Monday, 9 June.
Police seized an R5 rifle with three magazines, a 9mm Norinco pistol loaded with nine live rounds of ammunition, two bullet proof vests, two police reflective jackets, a crime scene expert jacket, a can of teargas, a can of photographic spray, a miner’s headlamp, a pair of handcuffs, 38 shotgun rounds and 285 rounds of R5 ammunition.
Umzinto SAPS detective team conducted a search of a rondavel occupied by the son and found shotgun ammunition and police equipment. Police then carried out a search of the main house on the property, where they found a hole in the concrete floor. The hole had been boarded up to conceal 285 live rounds of R5 ammunition. Police found the R5 rifle with three magazines and the pistol in an unused freezer. The serial numbers on both guns had been ground off.
The mother was arrested on the property while her son was arrested in a taxi. On Tuesday morning, the arrested woman’s husband handed himself over to Umzinto police. He will appear in court with with his wife and son. Investigations revealed the police equipment may have been stolen from a police vehicle in Durban in 2012. The trio are due to appear in the Umzinto Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 11 June.
Provincial police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni commended the members for the investigation that led to the recovery of the firearms and equipment. “We will be investigating if these firearms were used by these suspects to commit any other crimes and if so, further charges will be added,” she said.
