PRETORIA – A team from the Hawks’ Head Office National Bureau for Illegal Firearm Control and Priority Violent Crime (NBIFCPVC) has seized three hundred and twenty-three (323) firearms from a firearm dealer in Arcadia, Pretoria, on Thursday, January 25, on allegations of contravening the Firearms Control Act.
The team initially placed the firearms dealership under scrutiny during December 2017, following reports that the said establishment was in possession of firearms illegally.
A compliance inspection in terms of the firearms control Act was initiated from January 17 to 25, culminating in the seizure of firearms and related documentation.
The ongoing probe has so far revealed that according to records the dealership has of an assortment of firearms registered in its name on the Enhanced Firearms Registration System (EFRS) which it could not account for. The prescriptions of the Firearms Control Act are being followed in this regard and pending the outcome thereof charges of negligent loss of firearms/ or failure to report the loss of firearms will be added for investigation.
The seized firearms will be subjected to further forensic analysis in order to establish their origins and whether they were used in the commission of any criminal offences.
The Hawks has intensified operations to seize firearms from people involved in firearm trafficking, the illegal distribution thereof and legal entities involved in corruption and other illegal practices relating to firearms. The general public is urged to report about illegal firearms to Crime Stop or the provincial offices of the NBIFCPVC which are established countrywide within the Hawks.
No arrests have been effected as yet, investigations continue.
