Three suspects arrested, three firearms recovered during joint operation in Ndwedwe
|Published
Durban — Three suspects arrested for unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition in Ndwedwe are expected to appear in court soon.
Marshall Security managing director Tyron Powell said that a joint operation resulted in the arrest of the three suspects and the recovery of unlicensed firearms.
Powell said that on Wednesday morning, at approximately 12am, members of their Special Operations Team assisted Ndwedwe SAPS Crime Prevention and the Ilembe SAPS Task Team, acting on information received about unlicensed firearms.
“The operation, both well-co-ordinated and intelligence-led, resulted in the apprehension of three suspects in the Ndwedwe area, where, three firearms and a variety of ammunition were recovered,” Powell said.
“Interestingly, two of the recovered firearms were initially air rifles that had been modified to fire shotgun and rifle rounds.”
Powell said all three suspects were transported to Ndwedwe SAPS and will be facing charges of being in possession of an unlicensed firearm, unlawful possession of live ammunition and being in possession of home-made firearms.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo confirmed that three suspects were arrested for unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition at Wosiyane in Ndwedwe.
Ngcobo said that on February 20 and 21, police conducted an operation after receiving information about people suspected of carrying unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
“Three suspects were traced and arrested and they are due to appear in court soon,” Ngcobo said.
Meanwhile, when Police Minister Bheki Cele released the quarterly crime statistics for the financial year 2023/24 (October 2023-December 2023), he said that during cash-in-transit heists, high-calibre firearms, including rifles and AK47s, as well as high-performance vehicles that were used in the commission of these crimes were seized.
Crimes detected as a result of police action such as the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, drug-related crime, as well as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs as well as sexual offences and other crimes all registered an increase of 10.8 %, he said.
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