Cape Town - A crafty suspect left Grassy Park cops confused on Wednesday when they caught him with a firearm made out of a toilet plunger.
Grassy Park Police Station commander, Colonel Dawood Laing, says while chasing a man after seeing him leave a drug dealer in Parkwood on Wednesday, the vigilant officers expected to find drugs but got a fright to see the man in possession of a loaded home-made gun.
He says while out on patrol shortly after 6am, officers spotted the 36-year-old suspect leave a drug house run by the Americans gang in Parkwood Avenue.
“He was behaving suspiciously and they chased after him,” says Laing.
“When they caught him in Viljoen Walk, they searched him and they found this zip gun.
“The officers got a skrik (fright) when they saw he had used a plastic tube from a toilet plunger and loaded it with a spring and screws on the top and it even had a firing pin.”
Suspect’s homemade gun stuns Grassy Park cops.
Laing says cops were careful with the loaded gun as they brought it into the station and other curious officers also came to have a look.
He says in his 36 years serving as a police officer, he has never seen a home-made gun like this.
Inventive suspect arrested.
“I have seen zip guns before, but nothing like this. That plastic tube is so dangerous as it could explode in the hand of the shooter,” says the top cop.
Loaded
“There is no safety mechanism on it and most zip guns are made with metal, not plastic.
“The gun was loaded with a live 9mm round as well as a .38 special round and was ready to fire.
“It was sent away to the police laboratory for testing as it would be too dangerous for anyone to check here.
“But it is really concerning that the gangsters are now making these types of things.”
Laing says the suspect was charged with the illegal possession of ammunition and a zip gun and will appear in the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.