Two men have been taken into police custody during the course of the past weekend. The arrests were effected in two separate incidents in the Weenen area. A 41-year-old suspect was arrested by officers from the Uthukela Cluster Task Team in the early hours of 18 January 2019. The suspect was arrested at the Emanseleni area of Sahlume after he was found to be in possession of an unlicensed .38 revolver as well as a 6.35 pistol. The revolver had four rounds of ammunition in it and the pistol had one round of ammunition in its chamber.
A 55-year-old suspect was arrested by officers from the Pietermaritzburg Public order Policing Unit and the Ladysmith Tactical Response Unit. The officers had sourced valuable information and pounced on the suspect’s home where they found him to be in possession of an unlicensed R 5 rifle with its serial number filed off. The team confiscated a CZ75 pistol with 17 rounds of ammunition and a shotgun with 10 rounds of ammunition. The firearms were found in a cupboard instead of being in a prescribed gun safe. The police officers were ambushed when they were leaving the premises. Fortunately none of them sustained any injuries during the ambush.
During the operation a 12 gauge double barrel shot gun without a serial number was found abandoned. The suspects are due to make an appearance at the Weenen Magistrate’s Court today. They face charges of being in possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.