Johannesburg – The South African Police Service (SAPS) this week destroyed 16 049 firearms and firearm parts in Vanderbijlpark.
SAPS said on Thursday, (20 February 2025), this was the second destruction in the 2024/2025 financial year of ammunition seized during police operations such as Operation Shanela and subsequently forfeited to the state.
SAPS said it destroyed 12 502 handguns, 1 921 rifles, 1 305 shotguns, and 47 combination firearms.
“This brings the total number of firearms and firearm parts destroyed over the past six years to 279 594,” said police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk.
Deputy National Commissioner for Policing, Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili presided over the latest firearm destruction process.
The firearms were linked to finalised cases related to violence against women and children, cash-in-transit robberies as well as voluntarily surrendered firearms, and those handed in during the Amnesty period.
Provincial breakdown of firearms destroyed this week:
- Western Cape: 4 509
- Gauteng: 4 159
- KwaZulu-Natal: 3 241
- Eastern Cape: 1 104
- Free State: 1 046
- Limpopo: 711
- Mpumalanga: 461
- North West: 459
- Northern Cape: 359
Just last week, police seized 129 unlicensed firearms and 1 823 rounds of ammunition nationwide as part of Operation Shanela.
Lieutenant General Mosikili reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to intensifying operations aimed at removing illegal firearms and ammunition from the streets.
“All firearms with working mechanisms were subjected to the Integrated Ballistics Identification System testing to determine if they had been used in the commission of other crimes, including those handed in during the Amnesty period,” said Lieutenant Colonel Van Wyk.
