Pmb detective arrested for 'selling' stolen high-calibre firearm

AN OFF-DUTY Pietermaritzburg detective was nabbed when he allegedly tried to sell a high-calibre firearm, which had been stolen from a KwaZulu-Natal police station in 2006.

- YOSHINI PERUMAL

The 52-year-old warrant officer, who is a detective at the Mountain Rise police station, was allegedly in the process of selling the firearm and ammunition for R10 000 to an unemployed person, in Northdale.

The firearm is believed to be worth about R40 000 and was stolen from the Richmond police station in October 2006.

Santhalingum Munsamy Reddy appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday, and was remanded until his formal bail application, next week.

“The officer was charged for the contravention of the Firearms Control Act after he was found in possession of a rifle. The arrest was made after police received reports of a person who was selling a high-calibre firearm. When police got to the area, the suspect was found with an R5 rifle and investigations revealed it was a police firearm which had been stolen.

“The firearm will be subjected to ballistic testing to ascertain whether it was used in the commission of crimes,” said Colonel Robert Netshiunda, spokesperson for the KZN police.

A police source said the detective had been an officer for 31 years.

He alleged the detective had been trying to secure a buyer for the gun for the past two weeks.