Hundreds of firearm-evidence stolen from police
11 January 2024
A total of 357 firearms which were stored as evidence in the police's SAP 13 storerooms countrywide have been stolen since the 2020/21 financial year. So far, only six private persons have been arrested in connection with this.
This raises the question of what became of the court cases in which the evidence was supposed to have been used.
It is reasonable to assume that firearms are mainly used in perpetrating serious offences, such as murder and robbery, and without the evidence the chances of successful court cases are very slim.
The information was gleaned from replies by the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, to questions about the matter by Dr Pieter Groenewald, leader of the FF Plus. (Questions and replies are attached herewith.)