South Africa – Cape Town is awash with illegal guns and, in the latest round of police action, at least seven people have been arrested in two incidents with two assault rifles of military or police origin and two pistols.
Capable of firing between 600 and 750 rounds a minute, the R4 rifle is the standard weapon issued to members of the Sandf – a close-quarters killing machine.
On Tuesday, a pair of alleged gangsters were nabbed with not one, but two, variations of the automatic gun.
Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said police descended on a wendy house in Kaizer Street in Delft on Tuesday, where they found an R4 and an R5 rifle and ammunition. Both weapons had their serial numbers filed off.
And while he said police were investigating the origin of the weapons, a South African gun expert is certain he knows where they came from.
“The R4 is only issued to military personnel,” said Peter Smith, chairman of the High Power Rifle Association – a target-shooting organisation. “The R5, which is slightly shorter, is sometimes issued to police.
“They are not available to civilians. The R rifles are government property, which means they have either been lost, stolen or sold – which is very common.”…
South Africa Today – South Africa News
