Western Cape police on Monday arrested eight gunmen in two separate incidents because of taxi-related shootings in Bellville and Mbekweni near Paarl.
These two areas have recently been hit by taxi-related shooting incidents.
Members of the Public Order Police Unit were on patrol near the Mbekweni Railway Station when responding to shots fired at the taxi rank.
“On their way to Ntshaba Street, they stopped a taxi that was speeding. There were five men in the vehicle. They found a 9 mm cartridge cap on the floor and there were bullet holes in the windows of the vehicle, ”says Brig. Novela Potelwa, Western Cape police spokesperson.
The occupants were searched and police found several firearms and ammunition. The police have a Star 9mm pistol, a Star Norinco- 7.62 mm pistol, a 9mm pistol, seven magazines, dozens of 9mm cartridges and several 11 7.62 mm patterns found in the vehicle.
According to police, the serial numbers of all the firearms were filled.
All five men, aged between 34 and 46, were arrested. According to police, the men from Nyanga East, Blackheath, Strand and Kraaifontein.
Potelwa said the men will appear in Paarl Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on charges of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
* A 60-year-old man was shot dead in a shooting incident at Bellville Taxi Station on Monday morning.
“The police responded quickly and chased the fleeing suspects. The vehicle was forced to a halt after crashing into a wall. The occupants left the vehicle and fled on foot, ”says Potelwa.
Police detained them and arrested three men between the ages of 22 and 23.
“Two firearms were found in their possession, one of which was fully loaded.”
* A commuter was shot dead on Monday morning and a taxi driver was wounded in an attack in Mbekweni.
Potelwa says a team of detectives from the provincial police office are investigating the case.
Police deployments in both areas, meanwhile, have intensified.
