A police officer was arrested for stealing 15 firearms at Mitchells Plain police station in Cape Town. This is according to Police Minister Bheki Cele.
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Cele stated that while the officer was in court, an internal disciplinary action was taken against him.
The police have recently faced thefts of firearms from police stations. Cele revealed earlier this year that 350 firearms had been stolen from police stations over the past four years.
The minister stated that the firearms were stolen in November of last year, and that the officer involved has already appeared in court.
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‘A South African Police Service (SAPS) member took 15 firearms and eight imitation firearms to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) Platekloof for analysis; however, the firearms were not booked in at the FSL and the acknowledgement receipt from the FSL was not returned to the Mitchells Plain police station.’
‘A criminal case was registered where one member was arrested, charged, and made a first appearance in court on November 27, 2023. Both criminal and internal investigations are pending. The details of the investigation and court proceedings cannot be divulged as it may compromise the integrity of the outcome,’ said Cele.
Cele revealed this in a written parliamentary question to Okkie Terblanche, a Democratic Alliance member of parliament.
He also stated that they were seeking to hire more officers to combat the rise in violent crime.
This came after the minister stated that in the third quarter, more than 7 710 people were killed in South Africa.
The top 30 stations for violent crime were in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and the Eastern Cape.
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