Confiscated firearms, ammunition and stolen vehicles fill up Easter basket

07 April 2026

The City’s enforcement departments had a busy weekend, confiscating a large number of weapons and ammunition, shutting down a suspected chop shop and recovering a hijacked City vehicle.

Law Enforcement Advancement Plan officers recovered several weapons and ammunition in Crossroads on Sunday, 5 April.

At approximately 22:30, officers were on patrol in the vicinity of a house allegedly hijacked by gangsters, when they saw a man with a bag on his shoulders.

As soon as he noticed the officers, he fled, dropping the bag.

Officers recovered the bag and discovered a number of firearms, magazines and ammunition, which was taken to the Philippi East Police Station.

The haul included three firearms, six empty rifle magazines, seven empty pistol magazines, 99 rifle rounds, 13 long nose revolver rounds, and 60 rounds of various other ammunition.

‘Every firearm and bullet is potentially a life saved and a crime prevented. While our officers should be lauded for taking guns off our streets on a near daily basis, the harsh reality is that the flood of illicit weapons continues. Added to that is the very low conviction rate for gun possession, mostly due to an under-resourced SAPS and NPA. We will not stop the call for a devolution of investigation and forensic powers. We understand what this means and the mammoth task ahead of us, but the Safety and Security Directorate is ready. Until then, officers will continue to make streets safer, one illegal firearm at a time.

‘This past weekend, I joined the SANDF, SAPS, and City enforcement agencies for a patrol. It was encouraging to see the working relationship between all three, but we must ensure these patrols are intelligence-led. The challenge will be to ensure that, while we have additional SANDF boots on the ground within the Metro, we utilise them effectively to make a lasting impact by targeting the high-flyers in our communities who are driving the shootings,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

Law Enforcement officers arrested 126 suspects for various offences and issued 5 424 fines during weekly enforcement patrols.

Officers responded to a tip off and recovered the vehicles that had already been stripped, as well as two containers filled with car parts. Several suspects who were on the scene fled as soon as they saw the officers.

The recovered vehicles and parts were taken to the Bellville South Police Impound.

In addition, Metro Police Officers recovered a City of Cape Town vehicle earlier this morning, Tuesday, 7 April, which had been hijacked just hours earlier.

The vehicle had been abandoned and was found on the corner of Lesley Masina and Masemola street Mandela Park. It was later booked in at Bellville SAPS impound.

In addition, their successes included the arrest of 109 people, the issuing of 4 833 fines and the confiscation of a number of drugs.

Traffic Officers arrested 51 suspects, of which 46 were for driving under the influence of alcohol, two for reckless/negligent driving and three for other offences. They also recorded 47 336 offences, impounded 114 public transport vehicles and executed 902 warrants of arrest.

The Public Emergency Communication Centre recorded 1 748 calls for assistance this past weekend. Of the calls received, 114 were assault related cases, 64 domestic violence reports, 53 pedestrian and motor vehicle accidents and 355 noise nuisance complaints.

The public is reminded to report emergencies or any suspicious and/or criminal activities by phoning the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre on 021 480 7700.

It’s important that the caller provide detailed information, such as the time, exact address and a short description. This will assist enforcement services to respond swiftly.

Caption 1: The guns recovered in Crossroads.

Caption 2 & 3: The suspected chop shop in Philippi East was shut down.

End

Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office