Cape Town - The City of Cape Town welcomes the first ever ShotSpotter linked conviction and sentence, handed down in the Wynberg Regional Court earlier this month.
Virgil Koopman was arrested in Manenberg in October last year on a charge of discharging a firearm in a municipal area.
"The City’s Strategic Surveillance Unit supplied SAPS with CCTV footage of the incident as well as the ShotSpotter alert that was registered on the gunshot detection system at the time of the incident," said Mayco Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith.
"Koopman was sentenced to 12 months, suspended for five years, provided he is not found guilty of a similar offence during this period.
"This was a first for the City and is evidence of what is possible when the various enforcement agencies collaborate in the fight against crime. We also commend the persistence and dedication of the investigating officer and his team in this case and we look forward to more convictions, with the assistance of the technology that we have at our disposal."
In another victory for City law enforcement, The Metro Police Gang and Drug Task Team was on patrol in Manenberg Wednesday night when they were tipped off about drug activity at a house in Colorado Street, Primrose Park.
The officers responded immediately to conduct a search of the premises.
"They found two males at the address, one in possession of five ziplock packets of heroin, 16 small units of heroin and three large bags of tik. The other was caught wrapping 71 units of heroin. Officers arrested the suspects, aged 28 and 33, and handed them over to Manenberg police, along with the drugs with an estimated street value fo R20 000," said Metro Police spokesperson, Ruth Solomons.
"The Metro Police Department thanks the member of the public who tipped us off about this incident and we urge others to do the same if they’re aware of illegal activities."
Solomons added that in a separate incident on Thursday morning, at around 07:20, Metro Police officers were on patrol in Brown’s Farm, Philippi, when they found a stripped vehicle next to a canal.
Officers were informed by their control room that the Ford Laser was reported stolen earlier this month in Milnerton.
This is the eighth stolen vehicle recovered in two months by the same team, and the third to be found in the same spot.
In May, officers recovered a White Kia mini truck and a gold Toyota Tazz in the same informal settlement.
Both vehicles had been stripped and their parts removed. An investigation revealed that both vehicles had been reported stolen in the Milnerton/Table View area.
@TheCapeArgus