Firearms 'stolen from security guards' seized in roadblock

Three firearms – two of them allegedly stolen from security guards and a third licensed to an owner in East London – were seized when police stopped a bakkie ferrying passengers late at night in the North West.

The bakkie was pulled over at a roadblock on Friday on the R30 near Orkney.

“During the roadblock, 12 undocumented persons aged between 22 and 52 were arrested after a bakkie was stopped and searched,” said police spokesperson Col Adéle Myburgh in a statement on Sunday.

“The suspects were arrested after three firearms were found in their vehicle during the search. They were all charged with possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that that one of the recovered firearms was stolen from a murdered security guard at a local mine in Orkney in July 2019, while the second firearm was reportedly stolen from a security guard in August 2019 at an Eskom premises in Orkney.

“Although the third firearm is licensed in East London, indications are that the owner had passed away.”

During the same roadblock, three more people aged 20 to 32 were arrested for possession of drugs after allegedly being caught with 12 bricks of suspected crack cocaine estimated to be worth around R30,000.

All 15 suspects are expected to appear before the Orkney magistrate’s court on Monday.