–Edited by Bev Mortimer- The South African Police Service has so far destroyed 15 700 firearms, either seized during crime prevention operations, voluntarily surrendered or forfeited to the State, at Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng.
These firearms were part of a haul of 54 517 removed from circulation by the SAPS since April 2022 through a firearms destruction process.
This firearm destruction process is a measure that has bee put in place by the management of the SAPS, to ensure that firearms that are confiscated and recovered during operations, are permanently removed from society.
The process to demolish the forearms on 6 July was overseen by the National Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola.
All firearms destroyed were subjected to Ballistic testing to determine if they had been used in any crimes. The SAPS confirmed all firearms were cleared.
Through its Operation Shanela, the SAPS has recovered and/or confiscated close to 800 firearms since the inception of these high density operations.
The SAPS says it will continue to intensify operations to detect and remove illegal firearms and ammunition from the streets of South Africa, as they pose a threat to the safety and security of the inhabitants of this country.
See videos
https://twitter.com/i/status/1677019106409603082
https://twitter.com/i/status/1677018193712275471
https://twitter.com/i/status/1676927510326419457
St Francis Chronicle 