GQEBERHA – Police in the Nelson Mandela Bay district are coming down hard and fast on criminals in possession of illegal firearms and ammunition who are operating in gang hotspot areas.

This weekend two firearms were recovered with one arrest in separate incidents in the Bethelsdorp policing precinct. In the first incident, the Anti-Gang Unit members and Public Order Policing executed a search warrant at about 20:45 at a house in Siebritiz Street in Bethelsdorp on Friday evening, 4/03.  A shotgun with ammunition  was found. A 35-year-old man was arrested for possession of a prohibited firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.

He is expected to appear in the Gqeberha magistrate court on Monday, 7 March 2022.

In another unrelated incident, a 9mm pistol was found in a yard in Imbuia Street in Arcadia. It is alleged that at about 10:00 this morning, 6 March 2022, while members were attending a complaint in Arcadia, they received information of a firearm hidden in a yard. The said premises was thoroughly searched and a 9mm pistol with one round of ammunition was confiscated.

Ownership of the firearm is yet to be determined and an enquiry docket was opened for further investigation.

Both the shotgun and the pistol will be sent to ballistics for analysis.

Acting Nelson Mandela Bay District Commissioner, Brig Thandiswa Kupiso iterated that firearms found in the gang hotspot areas are used in the commission of serious crimes. ‘We appreciate the information provided by concerned citizens in these areas. Every information provided to police will be followed up. We are also warning residents who harbour criminals and hide their weapons that they will be arrested and charged for aiding and abetting criminals.’

Source: South African Police Service