The Cape Town Metro Police Department (CT MPD) has raised concern over an alarming trend involving imitation firearms being converted into lethal weapons capable of firing live ammunition, reports Cape {town} Etc.
The warning follows the arrest of two teenagers in Macassar on Monday, 3 November, after imitation firearms that had reportedly been modified to discharge live rounds were discovered at a school.
According to Metro Police spokesperson Ruth Solomons, Neighbourhood Safety officers responded to a school in Macassar on Monday morning after a learner was found in possession of what appeared to be a toy gun.
‘They, along with the South African Police Service (SAPS), found an imitation firearm and 30 live rounds of ammunition and arrested the 17-year-old for the possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition,’ EWN quoted Solomons as saying. ‘The female suspect provided further information leading officers to her boyfriend’s home, where they found another imitation firearm with one live round of ammunition.’
Initial indications, Solomons added, are that both imitation firearms ‘had been modified to discharge live rounds’. The suspects, aged 16 and 17, were detained at Macassar SAPS.
The CT MPD has warned that the illegal conversion of blank-firing or replica firearms – often used for film, training or signalling – is becoming increasingly common among criminals. These imitation guns are easier to obtain than real firearms and can be altered by ‘criminal amateurs’, a modification that Solomons cautioned ‘could result in serious injury’.
News24 previously reported that police have seen a rise in blank or replica guns being used in crimes, while IOL noted that between July and November 2019 alone, Cape Town Metro Police confiscated 28 imitation firearms and over 300 rounds of ammunition.
While authorities say the issue is not new, the growing sophistication of these modifications brings grave concerns.
The warning also comes amid a continued surge of gang-related shootings ravaging several Cape Town communities. Cape {town} Etc previously reported that police seized 1 565 illegal firearms and 39 371 rounds of ammunition since April 2025 in its efforts to crack down against gang-related crime in the Western Cape.
During this period, the operation saw 96 murders and 60 attempted murders reported. On Monday, the body of a 16-year-old boy was found in the bushes near Jakes Gerwel and the R300 in Samora Machel.
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Picture: Jay Rembert / Unsplash
