Drug-related crimes dominant in the WC, says top cop Masemola

CAPE TOWN - As gun violence continues to place Cafe Flats communities under siege, 80 illegal firearms have been seized in the Western Cape this past week.

These include the 19 firearms confiscated at a house in Mitchells Plain during an intelligence operation.

The bust also included a stun grenade, and an assortment of 1,500 rounds of ammunition found concealed in cooler boxes and safes.

No one has been arrested yet for the bust.

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National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemopla is in Cape Town this week, following a surge in gun and gang violence in recent weeks.

He said police in the cape are making inroads in the fight against crime.

"In terms of arrests for the Western Cape province, as of April 1st until now, we are standing at 114,000 suspects arrested for various crimes. The majority of these are drug-related crimes, which stand at 3,774 suspects. For illegal possession of firearms, it's 902."

Meanwhile, Cape Town police said they're following all leads that could lead to the arrest of suspects linked to the discovery of an arms cache in Mitchells Plain recently.

However, Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile said investigators are working around the clock to find the people responsible for the weapons.

"Remember those firearms we didn't just smell them to be there; we followed an intelligence. But we don't arrest to investigate but we investigate to arrest so that we can have convictions in court. So that's some of the teething problems that we are not effecting arrests for now."