A police Warrant Officer (53) attached to the Odendaalsrus Visible Policing was arrested on 27 February 2025 for alleged illegal possession of two firearms and rounds of ammunition. He will appear in the Odendaalsrus Magistrates Court on Friday, 28 February 2025.
In January this year, Welkom-based Hawks detectives received information about a man who keeps unpermitted firearms at his house. The said house was observed and confirmed as belonging to the suspect.
After obtaining a search and seizure warrant, a multi-faceted team of the Hawks, Tactical Response Team (TRT), SAPS detectives, and Local Criminal Record Center (LCRC) was assembled. They descended on the house early hours of 27 February.
Free State Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Major General Mokgadi Bokaba, has praised members involved in the operation for their swiftness. “No one is above the law. This arrest is evidence of our commitment to rooting out criminality, even within our ranks,” she said.
Investigation to ascertain the involvement of these firearms in other crimes is underway.
