PRETORIA – The SAPS National Commissioner, General Khehla John Sitole invites members of the media to the destruction of over 30 000 firearms on Wednesday, 17 April 2019.

The destruction will be followed by a media briefing which will be led by the Minister of Police, Minister Bheki Cele.

The firearms which are going to be destroyed were either seized, surrendered or forfeited to the state.

Since the last national firearm destruction on 27 October 2016, the SAPS has seized a large quantity of illegal firearms through planned operations and thus has resulted in the accumulation in our safe storage facilities.

The SAPS will continue and remains committed to fight the proliferation of illegal firearms and ammunition as they pose a threat to the safety and security of the inhabitants of this country.

In order to prevent the commission of serious and violent crimes and well as to stamp the authority of the State, police have to continue to actively detect and remove these illegal firearms from circulation.

Source: South African Police Service