A 24-year-old man had been arrested after a shoot-out with police in Philippi, police said on Sunday.
Philippi SAPS officers were carrying out a stop-and-search operation in Ryston Road, Hanover Park, at about 9pm on Saturday, Captain FC van Wyk said.
They heard gunshots and proceeded to where the shots had came from. They noticed two men running from them and chased after them.
One of the suspects started shooting at the police officers, who returned fire, but the man still managed to flee.
The officers “caught his partner in possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition”, he said.
A Z88 9mm parabellum pistol with the serial number filed off, along with a Z88 9mm magazine and nine live 9mm rounds, were confiscated from the arrested suspect, who was expected to appear in court on charges related to possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, Van Wyk said.
“Anyone with information on the crime is requested to contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or their local police station. All information will be treated as highly confidential.”