Three arrested for illegal firearm, explosives
Swift reaction by members of the police tactical response team led to the arrest of three men in Stella, near Vryburg, for illegal possession of a firearm and explosives, North West police said on Sunday.
The men’s arrest followed a tip-off from community members about suspicious men travelling in a particular vehicle on Saturday, Colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said.
TRT police officers looking for the vehicle soon spotted it on the road between Mahikeng and Kuruman in the Northern Cape, he said.
The vehicle was stopped and searched, and a firearm and “tubes of explosive gel” were found inside. Preliminary investigations revealed that the firearm was reported as lost in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, in 1987.
The men, aged 32, 34, and 43, were expected to appear in the Vryburg Magistrate’s Court soon, where they would face charges of illegal possession of a firearm and explosives, Mokgwabone said.
North West police commissioner Lt-Gen Baile Motswenyane commended the officers and the community for their co-operation, which resulted in the swift arrest of the suspects.