Murder accused out on bail arrested on firearm charges
01 March 2021
The suspect is one of 107 individuals arrested by the City’s enforcement services in the last week. Read more below:
A suspect in a murder case is back behind bars after he was arrested by Law Enforcement officers last week for possession of an illegal firearm.
Officers on patrol in Hanover Park on Thursday, 25 February 2021, spotted the suspect at a local shop. He appeared nervous, prompting them to conduct a search. They recovered a fully loaded revolver.
The suspect initially resisted arrest, but was taken into custody and, on arrival at the Philippi police station, it emerged that he was out on bail in connection with a 2019 murder case.
‘Much is said about visible policing and crime prevention, but we need to start taking a long, hard look at our criminal justice system as a whole. There is very little point to making arrests, only for suspects to be back on the streets the next day or in a few weeks because they are granted bail. Our Law Enforcement officers are to be commended for this arrest, but if we’re honest, we shouldn’t have persons arrested for serious and violent crimes on the streets in the first place, unless they have been cleared by the courts,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
In other Law Enforcement successes, officers arrested 46 suspects on a range of charges and issued 4 469 fines for various transgressions.
Traffic Service
Traffic officers had another busy week. They arrested 61 suspects, impounded 76 cellphones and 191 vehicles, and issued 74 829 fines.
Among those arrested were 40 motorists for driving under the influence of alcohol, and 14 who were charged with reckless and negligent driving.
Metro Police Department
The City’s Metro Police officers made 47 arrests in the last week.
Among the operational successes:
Metro Police members from the Tactical Response Unit were on crime prevention patrols in Spine Road, Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain on Sunday, 28 February 2021 when they observed a VW Jetta driving next to them. The two occupants in the vehicle grew anxious and turned into Assegaaibos Street, almost causing an accident. Officers stopped the vehicle and as they approached, they witnessed the driver attempting to conceal a package. During the vehicle search, officers found two boxes containing 136 bunches of “Khat". One of the boxes was found sealed in the vehicle’s backseat and another in an open box in the boot of the vehicle. The driver also had R1 920.00 in his possession. The two males, aged 35 and 28, were arrested for being in possession of “Khat" and detained at Mitchells Plain SAPS.
On the same day, officers from the Camera Response Unit received a complaint from the Control Room of a suspect who had broken into a vehicle on the corners of Bloem and New Church Street, Cape Town. The officers reported that the suspect had been found in possession of items removed from the vehicle. The suspect was placed under arrest for theft from a motor vehicle. On further investigation, it was found that other vehicles had also been broken into in the same vicinity. The 22-year-old suspect was detained at Cape Town Central SAPS.
On Saturday, 27 February 2021, officers received information from a member of the public about drugs being sold at an address in Enkanini Informal Settlement, Khayelitsha. The house was searched and the officers found nine packets of Tik . The 43-year-old suspect was arrested for possession of drugs and detained at Harare SAPS.
On the same day, officers pulled over a VW Polo at the corner of Strand Street and St Georges Mall, City Centre. Officers detected a strong alcohol smell and arrested the 48-year-old driver for driving under the influence of alcohol. The suspect was detained at Cape Town SAPS.
‘It is likely that we will see an increase in the number of drunk driving arrests following the move to Alert Level 1 of the national state of disaster. We can only appeal to people to be sensible and make use of the many other options available to them if they insist on consuming alcohol. It is imperative that we continue to protect our health care resources by reducing the amount of trauma related emergencies that often result from such alcohol abuse. To those who ignore the rule of law, a warning that our staff will be out and about, and you will face the consequences if caught,’ added Alderman Smith.
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
