By Buziwe Nocuze
- Western Cape Anti Gang Unit officers dug up a steel box hidden under concrete in a Ravensmead house and found guns, ammunition and explosives inside.
- Police arrested a 51 year old man at the property and charged him with illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives.
Police made a shocking discovery under the floor of a house in Ravensmead.
Members of the Western Cape Anti Gang Unit found a steel box buried beneath concrete at a home in Delft Street, Eureka Estate.
Inside the box were firearms, ammunition and explosives.
A 51 year old man was arrested at the scene.
South African Police Service spokesperson Captain Frederick Van Wyk said officers acted on information they received.
The tip off claimed a suspect linked to the South African National Defence Force was keeping firearms at his home.
Officers went to the house but found it empty.
They searched the property.
In one of the rooms, an officer noticed concrete under a carpet with plastic sticking out.
Police used a sledgehammer to break open the concrete.
They found a steel box buried in the ground.
Van Wyk said the box contained blank cartridges as well as 7.62 and 5.56 rifle cartridges.
Police also found a nine millimetre imitation firearm, a Beretta Z88 nine millimetre pistol, parts of an AR15 pistol or rifle, a scope and a magnifier.
Two rifle magazines were seized.
Officers also found nitrocellulose, which is a compound used in explosives, and a Claymore anti personnel mine.
Two laptops and a Huawei P9 cellphone were also taken as exhibits.
“The suspect arrived home and identified himself as the owner of the house, he was then arrested for the possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives and transported to Ravensmead SAPS with the exhibits. He will appear in the Goodwood Magistrate’s Court tomorrow on the mentioned charges,” said Van Wyk.
The case is now being investigated by the provincial organised crime detectives firearms investigations unit.
A 40 year old resident said the discovery raised serious concerns.
“The person who gave SAPS this information did a good thing because we don’t know if he’s part of the criminals who are terrorizing communities. Why did he hide these things if they were legal? I hope that he won’t be let go and he must tell why he has all these things,” the resident said.
He believes some of the items could have been used in crimes.
“A suspect from SANDF having all these things buried in his house is raising a lot of questions. What was he doing with the explosives? He must be investigated, it must be clear if he’s working with criminals and if found guilty he needs to get a harsher sentence to send a clear message to others,” he said.
Pictured above: Police dug up a steel box filled with guns and explosives at a Ravensmead home.
Image source: Supplied
