Soldiers arrested for selling stolen ammo

FILE PHOTO

FILE PHOTO

Published Jun 28, 2013

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Johannesburg - More than 200 000 rounds of ammunition have allegedly been stolen from the military and sold off to a gun shop - which exported the ammunition to a country in conflict.

Two soldiers and a civilian have been arrested and have appeared in the Lenasia Magistrate’s Court on charges of theft of ammunition and fraud.

The Star has reliably learnt that more warrants of arrest have been issued, with more arrests imminent.

Sergeant Peter Motaung, 49, a storeman at 21 Infantry Battalion in Lenasia, and Corporal Diphapa John Motloung, 44, a communications clerk at the same battalion, were charged with theft and fraud.

Motloung is in custody without bail.

Thabang Motloung, 23, the son of John, a filling station attendant, was also arrested. He was remanded, and has been charged with being an accessory to the theft of the ammunition as well as conspiracy to commit murder.

The charges relate to ammunition stolen over a long period. The quantity is not known precisely, allegedly due to fraudulent tampering with military records, but is thought to be more than 200 000 rounds worth over R1 million.

According to a statement made by one State witness, which was read out in court, Peter Motloung - also known as “Meerkat” - was selling .223 rounds from two shacks at the back of his house in Evaton.

The witness, who said he was a middleman, had bought the ammunition from Motloung and sold it to a popular gun shop in Joburg.

The witness said Motloung would offer to sell things like bullet-proof vests and ammunition.

He said people from the gun shop had asked him if he knew of ammunition for sale as the shop couldn’t keep up with what they were selling, especially elsewhere in Africa.

He had heard of the .223 rounds for sale, he said in his statement.

The witness said that in 2008, he bought five boxes from Motloung’s house for R2 500 a box. He sold them at a profit to the gun shop and was paid cash.

He said that between 2008 and 2012, at least 50 crates of the ammunition were sold to the gun shop.

The witness said he was called, and met Thabang after his father was arrested. Thabang allegedly told the witness that if the case continued in court, the investigating officer - a woman - would be killed, which was why he had been charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

“They’ve got some guy who came up from Cape Town, and he was not arrested, and if this thing goes back to court, and continues, the investigating officer would be killed,” the witness reported Thabang as saying.

Other witnesses claimed that some of the military ammunition was exported to Georgia. This was around the time Russia invaded the country, which is on the border between Europe and Asia.

The Star understands that the previously stalled case started gaining momentum when forensic consultancy firm Paul O’Sullivan & Associates became involved and took statements from witnesses.

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The Star

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