A .38 Special revolver, which was reported stolen during a house robbery incident that that took place in Middleburg, back in August 1997 has been recovered by police in Mpumalanga.
The stolen firearm was recovered by border policing officers deployed under Operation Vala Umgodi.
“On Monday night, members were conducting normal vehicle checkpoints at Kamaqhekeza on the R581 Road as well as on the R571 Road. It is said that they stopped and searched a Volkswagen Polo with Gauteng registration number plates,” said Mpumalanga provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli.
“It was during this time when the team recovered a .38 Special revolver, loaded with about six live ammunition. Ntokozo Blessing Ngomane could not produce a firearm licence for the firearm hence he was arrested,” he said.
“It was also during this period when the preliminary investigation revealed more details regarding the firearm as well as the area where it was stolen, some 26 years ago, in 1997.”
After Ngomane's arrest, he appeared before the Nkomazi Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where he was released on R1,000 bail.
The case against Ngomane was postponed to June 24.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has welcomed Ngomane’s arrest.
She also commended the police officers who “removed the lethal weapon from the wrong hands”.
In January, IOL reported that a 67-year-old man was arrested after being found in possession of more than 100 firearms, with ammunition.
The pensioner was arrested for contravention of the Firearms Control Act, Mdhluli said at time.
“According to a (police) report, information was received by the law enforcement agencies regarding a lot of firearms which were somehow stored by an old man inside a certain house at Elukwatini,” said Mdhluli.
“Further details indicated that the man was in some way part of a certain security company but was suspected to be non-compliant (with the Firearms Control Act),” he said.
Police had obtained a search warrant, and upon arrival at the premises, the law enforcement agencies found the sexagenarian and they began to comb the place.
“It was during this period when they conducted a search and then discovered a total of about 106 firearms as well as 1,704 ammunition,” said Mdluli at the time.
IOL