Swart’s murder probe: Firearms recovered linked to murders of DJ Sumbody, DJ Vintos - investigator

The firearms recovered during the murder investigation of Vereeniging engineer, Armand Swart, have been linked to 30 different cases, including several murders.

This is according to the investigating officer in the Swart murder case, Witness B, who concluded her two-day testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Thursday afternoon.

Witness B told the Commission how the investigating team in Swart's murder received pushback from the detectives at the South African Police (SAPS)'s Ballistics Lab in Pretoria, as the murder weapons were linked to high-profile figures and various other cases.

This resulted in the team sending the firearms to KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)'s Ballistics Lab for a second opinion.

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Swart, a father of two, was shot 23 timesoutside his company premises in April last year in what's been labelled as a case of mistaken identity.

While the murders of DJ Sumbody and DJ Vintos have been linked to the firearms recovered during Swart's murder investigation, there are dozens more cases in which these same firearms were used in criminal acts.

Testifying before the Commission, Witness B alleged that ballistic analysis has linked the firearms to at least 30 cases.

"Since the Swart murder and the recovery of these firearms, the ballistic hits in total that we have at the present, which might be more because it's a continuous investigation, it's to the number of 30."

On Wednesday, Witness B alleged that she was informed by one of the detectives involved in the initial ballistic analysis of the firearms in Pretoria that they were linked to high-profile figures and even cases of cash-in-transit heists.

Witness B concluded her testimony before the Commission on Thursday afternoon, with Witness C, a detective attached to the Police Killings Task Team, expected to testify on Friday.