80 Guns Seized In Cape Town As Drug Crimes Surge, Says Masemola

Gun violence continues to grip Cape Flats communities, with police seizing 80 illegal firearms in the Western Cape over the past week.

One of the biggest discoveries was made in Mitchells Plain, where 19 firearms, a stun grenade, and about 1,500 rounds of ammunition were recovered. The cache was hidden in cooler boxes and safes during an intelligence-driven operation.

Despite the haul, no arrests have been made so far, SurgeZirc SA has learned.

Masemola: Drug Crimes Top Arrest Figures

National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola, currently in Cape Town following a spike in gun and gang violence, said police are making progress in curbing crime.

“In terms of arrests for the Western Cape province, as of April 1st until now, we are standing at 114,000 suspects arrested for various crimes. The majority of these are drug-related crimes, which stand at 3,774 suspects. For illegal possession of firearms, it’s 902,” Masemola said.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Daughter Of Convicted Chinese Human Trafficker Vows To Prove Mother’s Innocence

Cape Town police confirmed they are pursuing all possible leads to track down those linked to the Mitchells Plain weapons seizure.

Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile explained that detectives are committed to securing solid cases before making arrests.

“Remember those firearms we didn’t just smell them to be there; we followed an intelligence. But we don’t arrest to investigate but we investigate to arrest so that we can have convictions in court. So that’s some of the teething problems that we are not effecting arrests for now,” Patekile said.

---

For More, Follow SurgeZirc SA On Facebook, X,  Instagram and Bluesky