Cape Town - Five people have been arrested for being in possession of illegal firearms in two separate incidents in Cape Town, Western Cape police said on Saturday.
Serious and violent crimes remained a top priority for the Western Cape police and every endeavour was made to bring perpetrators to book, as demonstrated by officers in the Khayelitsha policing cluster this week, Lt-Col Andrè Traut said.
Strand detectives were affecting an arrest during a tracing operation on Friday when they noticed that the 27-year-old suspect "kicked something under the bed", he said.
A search led to the discovery of a pistol with 15 rounds of ammunition in the magazine. The suspect could not provide proof of ownership and would be charged with the illegal possession of a firearm. He and his girlfriend were arrested and were due to appear in the Strand Magistrate's Court on Monday, Traut said.
Later on Friday, officers attached to the cluster’s operational command centre received information about firearms in an identified vehicle in Site C, Khayelitsha.
"They spotted the vehicle and pulled it over. They searched the vehicle and the occupants and found two firearms on two of the three occupants. All three suspects, aged between 25 and 30, were arrested for illegal possession of a firearm and the possession of a prohibited firearm."
These suspects also had previous pending cases for business robbery in the Paarl area. They would appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrate's Court on Monday, Traut said.