Man caught with 12 illegal firearms
A HIGH-SPEED chase along Potsdam Road yesterday led to the recovery of 12 firearms in a driver’s possession.
City traffic officers from the breath testing unit were conducting a checkpoint along Blaauwberg Road, safety mayco member JP Smith said, when at around 8am the driver of a white VW Polo was stopped.
A traffic officer noticed that the driver appeared nervous.
“The officer also spotted a red bag on the floor of the passenger seat and asked the driver to step out of the vehicle. He sped off instead, resulting in a high-speed chase along Potsdam Road, into the Dunoon taxi rank. There, the driver jumped out of the vehicle with the bag and ran away… during the chase, he threw the bag under a minibus.
“Officers caught up with the suspect and recovered the bag, revealing 12 pistols with serial numbers filed off. The 37-year-old was arrested and detained at Table View SAPS,” Smith said.
SAPS have since taken over the investigation.
Smith commended the officers for pursuing the suspect. “The details of this case are extremely concerning. There are many unanswered questions, like where the suspect got the guns, and their intended use,” he said.