Pretoria - Three unlicensed firearms and 15 live rounds of ammunition have been recovered, hidden in a Toyota Corolla inside the Van Rhyn Deep SAPS Pound in Ekurhuleni.
Spokesperson for the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD), Lieutenant Colonel Kelebogile Thepa, said the police raided the police pound after receiving information about firearms stashed inside a vehicle which was towed to the facility.
“On Wednesday, 8 February 2023, at 12:00, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department STT officers, in conjunction with the South African Police Service northern region intelligence unit, recovered three unlicensed firearms and 15 live rounds of ammunition at the SAPS pound in the Benoni area,” said Thepa.
“The officers received information that there are firearms stashed inside a white Toyota Corolla that was towed to the Van Rhyn Deep SAPS Pound.”
She said the officers followed up on the information as the vehicle in question had been used by a suspect who was arrested in Kempton Park on 29 October last year. The man was arrested for possession of counterfeit money, and the vehicle he was driving was taken in by police for further investigation.
“Upon searching of the vehicle, two firearms hidden under the cover of the air conditioner compartment, and one other firearm hidden under the cover of the carbon compartment, were uncovered by the law enforcers,” said Thepa.
“All the firearms, namely a Girsan Regard, CZ75 and Beretta S66 pistols with fifteen live rounds, had defaced serial numbers.”
Thepa police investigations are continuing.
Earlier this week, the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department said it had arrested two Nigerian men in connection with the theft of motor vehicle parts at the SAPS vehicle pound.
At the time, Thepa said a third suspect, also linked to the crime, showed police where he would sell the stolen parts.
“On Monday, 6 February 2023, at about 9am, the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department, in conjunction with the South African Police Service (SAPS) Benoni, arrested two Nigerian male suspects aged 30 and 40 years old as accomplices to committing a crime, related to the stolen motor vehicle parts case, that occurred at the SAPS vehicle pound in Benoni,” Thepa said.
“The EMPD members, with the SAPS detectives, conducted an operation to arrest more suspects involved in the theft of motor vehicle parts from the Van Rhyn Deep SAPS13 vehicle pound.”
IOL