Police officers in Gqeberha are committed to ensuring safety in the community during the festive period. Continued efforts to effectively fight the proliferation of illegal firearms paid off on Friday, 31 December 2021, when alert members from SAPS Kwazakele apprehended three male suspects.
Members were busy conducting routine stop and search operations in Mali Street, Zwide at about 11:00, when alert members noticed the number plate of a 208 Peugeot was tampered with. The driver and the passengers were instructed to pull off the road. The vehicle registration was immediately tested and it did not match. Further investigations revealed that the vehicle was forcefully taken during a house robbery that occurred in November 2021 in the New Brighton area.
Upon searching the vehicle, two firearms were found. (A 7.65 of which the serial number was scratched off and a gas pistol). The three suspects (ages 23 – 27) were arrested on the spot on charges ranging from the prohibited possession of a firearm and the possession of a stolen vehicle. The three suspects are due to appear in the New Brighton Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 03 January 2022 on the said charges. More charges might be added as the investigation unfolds.
The vehicle was impounded and the firearm will be sent for ballistic testing.