Umzinto - A KwaZulu-Natal couple and their son were arrested for possession of firearms and ammunition, police said on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old woman and her 20-year-old son were arrested at their homestead on Mistake Farm close to Umzinto on Monday afternoon, Colonel Jay Naicker said.
The woman's husband, in his forties, handed himself over to police on Tuesday, said Naicker.
Police said they seized an R5 rifle with three magazines, a 9mm Norinco pistol loaded with nine rounds of ammunition, two bulletproof vests, two police reflective jackets, a crime scene expert jacket, a can of teargas, a miner's headlamp, a pair of handcuffs, 38 shotgun rounds, and 285 R5 rounds of ammunition.
Naicker said information about a firearm that was used in an attempted murder case led to the raid.
The shotgun ammunition and the police equipment were found in the 20-year-old's rondavel.
“Thereafter, police carried out a search of the main house which is occupied by his parents and they discovered a hole in the concrete floor of the bedroom beneath the bed,” said Naicker.
The 285 rounds of R5 ammunition were found inside, while the R5 rifle and three magazines and the Norinco pistol were found inside a deep freezer inside the house.
“The serial numbers of both guns had been ground off,” said Naicker.
The mother was arrested and her son, who was found in a taxi outside the homestead, was also placed under arrest.
“Investigations revealed that the police equipment, other than the firearms and ammunition, may have been stolen from a SAPS (SA Police Service) vehicle that had been broken into in 2012 in Durban,” said Naicker.
Ballistics tests would also be conducted to determine if the firearms were used in other crimes.
The couple and their son would appear in the Umzinto Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
Sapa