Police firearm recovered inside spaza shop fridge
“The shop in Mbele Section was visited and the shop-owner, who denied having a firearm, was found inside,” said Muthan.
A cocked 9mm police firearm, with one magazine and 12 live rounds of ammunition, was recovered and suspects arrested inside a foreign-owned spaza shop in Zandspruit on 20 November.
The recovery of the gun, which was stolen during a housebreaking incident at an officer’s house, came about after the Honeydew Police received information about the owner of the shop firing shots at a would-be business robber, believed to a nyaope addict.
According to the spokesperson for the station, Captain Balan Muthan, they received information from a credible source, who witnessed the shop-owner firing shots at a suspected business robber.
“According to the source, the shop-owner shot at a ‘nyaope boy’ who was trying to rob the shop. The source asked the shop-owner why he shot at the ‘nyaope boy’ and the shop-owner replied that he just wanted to scare the boy off,” said Muthan, as he explained the incident.
He added that the information was passed on to the Honeydew Police Crime Prevention members and an intelligence-driven operation was launched at about 11.15pm the same day.
“The shop in Mbele Section was visited and the shop-owner was found inside the shop. He denied having a firearm,” said Muthan.
He went on to say, “The shop was searched and a Z88 9mm police issue pistol with serial no. Q117058, one magazine and 12 live rounds of ammunition were found inside the fridge where the cold drinks are kept”.
The suspect was detained at Honeydew Police Station and will be appearing in court soon.
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