Stolen weapons fuel SA's violence

Police guns, missing firearms are turning streets into killing fields

- BRANDON NEL

THE smoking gun behind SA's blood-soaked streets may be closer to home than many realise.

Stolen police firearms, missing civilian guns and smuggled weapons from neighbouring countries such as Namibia are fuelling a hidden trade that runs from Cape Town's ganglands to towns and cities across the country.

These weapons move easily through the country, often arriving first in the Mother City before being used in killings and gang wars, and then travelling inland to arm other criminal groups involved in robberies, assassinations and cash-in-transit heists.

According to analysts and police insiders, the theft of guns from law enforcement is "the root of the evil" fuelling the country's hidden weapons trade, leaving families, shopkeepers and cash-in-transit drivers living in fear.

Over the past decade, more than 73500 civilian firearms and over 7000 police-issued weapons have been reported lost or stolen, with most never recovered.

Gun Free SA's Claire Taylor said that while cross-border trafficking and conflict-era weapons still played a role, their impact was now far smaller.

"Cross-border smuggling has declined significantly since the 1990s," she said.

"Police data shows that just 56 illegal firearms were seized at ports of entry in 2023/24, compared to 179 in 2009/10.

"The few that are smuggled across borders tend to be high-calibre weapons, often destined for organised crimes like cash-in-transit heists, rhino poaching and targeted killings.