Cape Town – Police have seized two firearms in Wellington in the Western Cape following an intelligence operation.
In a statement released on Thursday, police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said the Winelands Cluster’s Crime Prevention Unit, along with the Boland’s K9 Unit, received information about illegal firearms.
She said officers intercepted a minibus taxi travelling from Ceres en route to Cape Town and seized two unlicensed firearms, magazines and rounds of ammunition on Wednesday.
“Upon spotting the taxi, police officials pursued it through Wellington and pulled the vehicle over at 3.45pm in Stokery Road.
“After searching the vehicle, they discovered two pistols with serial numbers filed off, 26 rounds of ammunition and three magazines concealed in the panels of the vehicle.
“Nine men between the ages of 29 and 60 were subsequently detained for possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.
“They are all from Cape Town,” Potelwa said.
The firearms were sent for ballistic testing to determine whether they had been used in the commission of any crimes.
In an unrelated incident on Tuesday, a 62-year-old man was arrested in Carissa Drive in Ruyterwacht, Elsies River.
The man was found in possession of an undisclosed amount of money, marijuana and mandrax with an estimated street value of R27 450).
On the same day, a 30-year-old man was arrested in Lindela Road in Mau-Mau, Nyanga, after he was found possession of mandrax.
In an unrelated incident in Crossroads, a 63-year-old man was arrested when police were searching for a wanted suspect in Ngqabe Street.
A curious officer went round the back of the premises and spotted a man who had dropped something in a yellow cloth.
The man was instructed to pick up the object, and the officers discovered it was an R5 assault rifle.
African News Agency (ANA)