Johannesburg - Joburg police arrested a 20-year-old suspect at the Wanderers Taxi Rank over the weekend when he was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
Police spokesperson Captain Xoli Mbhele said the arrest was made on Saturday at about 1pm when cops were doing routine duties at the taxi rank.
“The police saw a suspicious male jumping inside a taxi to Durban.
“They requested him to come out with his sports bag, they searched him and recovered a disassembled shotgun with live ammunition. He failed to produce a license to possess a firearm,” said Mbhele.
Police said the firearm would be sent for ballistic testing to ascertain if it had been used in other crimes.
The suspect was expected to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate Court on Monday.
Meanwhile, thousands of commuters in Gauteng were left stranded as minibus taxi operators went on strike against what they called inadequate support to the industry from the government to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government has offered R1.1 bn to the sector to prop up the sector, which has, like other numerous businesses in South Africa, been forced to operate far below capacity under a nationwide lockdown imposed from March 27 to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The government has indicated it cannot afford the taxi industry's demand for the state to increase its support to R5bn.
The Joburg bus transport system, Rea Vaya, said on Twitter that it was experiencing an unusually high number of commuters at its stations and bus stops, resulting in long queues and waiting travel times.
Many employees have only recently gone back to work after being grounded for more than two months because of the lockdown, with some going without pay during that period.
The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) condemned the blockage of roads and intimidation of commuters by its members in Gauteng.
"We urge Santaco Gauteng and the general taxi industry to demonstrate a peaceful shutdown," it posted on Twitter.