The City of Cape Town (COCT) says efforts of Law Enforcement officers and the Metro Police led to the recovery of half a dozen firearms between 11pm on Friday, 25 February and 4pm on Saturday, 26 February.
According to a statement by the COCT, at approximately 11:30 pm on Friday officers on patrol in Delft South spotted five males standing on a street corner. The City says as officers approached the men, two of them ran away and a chase ensued.
“During the ensuing chase, the men were seen dumping objects on the ground, which later turned out to be two firearms. They were arrested and detained at Delft SAPS.
“A few hours later, at 02:45 am officers were on patrol in Eindhoven when they saw a man walking down the street. When he saw the officers, he dumped an object into a nearby yard. Officers investigated, and found a 9mm pistol with five rounds of ammunition. The suspect was arrested and detained at Delft SAPS,” the City further communicated.
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The City went on to express that at 11:15 pm on Saturday, 26 February members of the Metro Police’s Tactical Response Unit responded to a shooting incident at an intersection along Jan Smuts Drive in Wetton when they found an abandoned white VW sedan in the middle of the intersection with the doors open and spent cartridges on the ground.
“Members of the public informed the officers that three suspects jumped out of that vehicle, and opened fire on another vehicle, which managed to drive away. They also pointed out the direction in which the suspects fled, and officers apprehended two men aged 29 and 34 a short while later.
“They also recovered a 9mm pistol with five rounds of ammunition in the magazine. The suspects were arrested for the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition and discharging a firearm in a municipal area,” the City indicated.
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Further confiscations were made in Bishop Lavis when officers spotted two men dumping firearms at a nearby property. Officers recovered two 9mm pistols and nine rounds of ammunition.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith went on to say the recovery of the firearms were the result of visible and responsive policing on the one hand, and valuable input from community members.
“I commend the officers involved in all of these incidents, but also the many other day-to-day enforcement basics that result in arrests and firearm confiscations, as well as act as deterrents to potential criminal acts,” Smith said.
According to Smit effective policing relies heavily on partnerships with community-based organisations, but also individual residents.
“While the recovery of these firearms is certainly a feat, it does once again beg the question about the supply lines and why so many illegal firearms continue to make it onto our streets” Smith reiterated.
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