The Western Cape’s Department of Community Safety has welcomed the confiscation of eight firearms, two rifles, three silencers and 1574 rounds of live ammunition.
According to a statement by the department LEAP officers received an anonymous telephonic tipoff on Monday, November 15 about firearms and ammunition at a property in Belhar, Cape Town.
“A team of officers immediately proceeded to the location and began searching for the cache. Before long, a blue bag containing firearms and a black box containing ammunition was found. The firearms and ammunition were taken to Belhar Police Station for processing,” the statement said.
Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz indicated that his department is ‘happy’ when officers are able to take an illegal gun off of the streets.
“We know what amount of misery that even a single gun can [wreak] on our communities. Here we have a situation where eight firearms and two rifles, as well as more than 1500 rounds of live ammunition, were all taken off of the street,” Fritz said.
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Fritz added that LEAP officers have been working to build the trust of community members, so that community members feel that they are able to pass on valuable information, which, as we know, is dangerous to do.
“I want to thank them for following up on the tip-off and making this possible. I want to thank the LEAP teams for their work in this regard,” Fritz indicated.
In the meantime, the confiscations come after a total of 98 suspects were arrested over the past weekend. 55 people were arrested for being in possession of drugs, 18 for being in possession of a dangerous weapon, and, five for being in possession of an imitation firearm.
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