Johannesburg Public Safety MMC Dr Mgcini Tshwaku says they have discovered high calibre weapons from zama zama gangs who opened fire at Johannesburg Metro Police (JMPD) officers in Matholesville, west of Johannesburg, at the weekend.
Metro police embarked on an operation aimed at raiding illegal mining in a bid to restore safety to communities. The operation follows the discovery of five bodies believed to be that of illegal miners in Riverlea, Johannesburg, last weekend.
Tshwaku says they are working with SAPS to probe the origins of the weapons.
“We managed to arrest one lady with a rifle and recovered the ammunition, those big ones that when one is shot at – it rips [you] apart. We also uncovered a big area where they do penduka [which means to rotate].”
“On Saturday, we’ve recovered five rifles and yesterday [on Sunday] another two and we’ve asked the police to do an analysis to find where these weapons are coming from. Police will track who is giving them these guns,” adds Tshwaku.
The audio below is reporting more on the story:
