44 firearms confiscated in Nelson Mandela Bay in less than a month

POLICE in the Nelson Mandela Bay District are being lauded, after more than 40 firearms have been removed from the streets in January 2022. Picture: Pixabay

POLICE in the Nelson Mandela Bay District are being lauded, after more than 40 firearms have been removed from the streets in January 2022. Picture: Pixabay

Published Jan 26, 2022

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Cape Town - Hard work by the Eastern Cape police has paid off, as they confiscated 44 firearms in January 2022.

According to provincial police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu, the seizures of the firearms took place within the Nelson Mandela Bay District, with the latest arrests and confiscations effected on Sunday and Monday.

She said on Sunday, at 7.45pm, officers attached to the Gelvandale Crime Prevention Unit (CPU) were conducting patrols in hotspot areas in Helenvale, when they heard gunshots coming from the direction of Extension 12.

Naidu said officers spotted a grey VW Polo driving towards Reginald Street.

“The vehicle was stopped and, upon searching it, a 9mm pistol and eight rounds of ammunition were found on the floor in front of the driver’s seat.

“The driver, a 49-year-old, was arrested for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

“The firearm was reported stolen in Mount Road, in July 2021,” she said.

Members of the police’s Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) arrested a 44-year-old man, after receiving information about an illegal firearm being held at a house in Prosperity Lane, in Kleinskool, on Monday.

The suspect was caught red-handed by officers, tossing the silver firearm – which had its serial number filed off – into the bathtub.

The suspect was arrested on charges of possession of a prohibited firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.

“While AGU officers were still busy at the house, at about 11.45am, they received information about another firearm, at another house in the same street. A dismantled shotgun, with three rounds of ammunition, was confiscated.

“An enquiry docket was opened for investigation,” Naidu said.

Nelson Mandela Bay District acting police commissioner Brigadier Thandiswa Kupiso expressed her gratitude to the AGU officers for their level of professionalism and perseverance, shown in protecting the life and property of the people of Nelson Mandela Bay.

Kupiso said firearms are at the centre of many serious and violent crimes in the metro and that police will not stop in its endeavours to eliminate the illegal firearms from the grasp of criminals.

“The uprooting of crime and criminals in our society will not cease, as we strive towards creating crime free neighbourhoods,” she added.

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