Cape Town – A former police colonel based in Vereeniging, who was in charge of confiscated firearms, appeared in a Cape Town court on Friday, facing multiple charges that include murder, attempted murder, corruption theft and racketeering.
Christiaan Lodewyk Prinsloo, 56, is facing 28 charges.
With him in the dock was Vereeniging firearm collector and expert, Allan Robert Raves, 56, who faces seven charges that include racketeering, corruption and theft.
It is alleged that weapons were stolen and allegedly sold to fuel gang wars in the Western Cape.
They appeared in the Bellville District Court before magistrate Ronald Rieckerts, who warned them to appear again on July 22.
Prinsloo was arrested in July last year and made his first appearance in the Bellville court two days later. Raves was arrested in August last year. They have since appeared in court, together, four times.
The State was represented by senior advocate Shireen Riley of the Western Cape Directorate for Public Prosecutions, who is to prosecute the pair when they go on trial in the Cape High Court.
She hoped to have the indictment completed by the time the two make their next court appearance, she told the court.
At this stage, Prinsloo faces three counts of murder, 12 of attempted murder, two of the illegal possession of a firearm without a license and two of smuggling firearms to persons not permitted to possess firearms. He also faces charges of racketeering, corruption, theft, the illegal possession of ammunition, tampering with a firearm, the possession of a firearm with the serial number removed, and the possession of a firearm with intent to commit an offence.
Raves is charged with racketeering, corruption, theft, possession of a firearm without a license, the illegal possession of ammunition, tampering with a firearm and the possession of a firearm with the serial number removed.
African News Agency