War against illegal firearms

HOW much would it take to take someone out? Well, if you have a few thousand rand, a gang boss can provide you with the firepower. A police-issued gun can be purchased for around R15 000.

The war against the availability of illegal firearms, which feed violent crimes such as murder and cash-in-transit heists, will never end, according to experts monitoring firearms control and former criminals who traded in drugs and gangsterism.

Independent Media in Cape Town spoke to a former drug dealer who had been imprisoned and was affiliated with a gang leader and may not be identified due to safety reasons.

The ex-drug lord said the war against the sale of illegal firearms would never be won as long as corrupt police officials kept the market open, and those producing home-made firearms and ammunition.

“Some of the police come and take away the guns here in Lavender Hill, but they never book them into the police station. They sell them to other gangs.

“My friend was a gang leader, and he owned two guns, and the police never took his firearms because it was all about the money. I know this because I was in the trade. What happens with the guns the police carry? They land up here with the gangsters. Here, you mainly hear the shots going from 9mm pistols to automatic firearms.

“There was a man in Kirstenbosch who used to produce and manufacture the bullets. That is where everyone used to get their bullets from, especially the gangsters.”

Just a week ago, Western Cape police confiscated 33 firearms and 578 rounds of ammunition. They arrested 39 suspects.”

This number revealed that close to five firearms were confiscated by police each day.

According to The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, in just over two decades, nearly 27 000 police-issued firearms have been stolen, lost or landed in the hands of gang bosses who resell them for double the price.

Jenni Irish-qhobosheane of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime said they had compiled a report on how to silence the guns and end the sale of gun licences, which epitomised the shocking reality.

The biggest challenge was the non-disclosure of the number of firearms that had disappeared out of evidence rooms or which had been scheduled for destruction.

“While the South African police do release some information on firearms lost or stolen each year, they do not release or do not have figures on firearms missing from police evidence stocks and of firearms earmarked for destruction,” said Irish-qhobosheane.

Another challenge was that police had lost thousands of firearms and that few people had been convicted or sentenced. Only six had seen the long arm of the law between 2018 and 2019.

Irish-qhobosheane stated: “In South Africa, 26 277 police-issued firearms were lost or stolen between 2002/3 and 2018/19.

“What is clear is that few police officers have been charged or disciplined for the loss/theft of their police-issued firearms.”

In 2016, former Gauteng SAPS Colonel Christiaan Prinsloo was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to 11 charges relating to money laundering, racketeering and the smuggling of lethal weapons worth R9 million. Last year it was claimed that Prinsloo had been granted parole, but authorities would not confirm this.

Irish-qhobosheane said Prinsloo’s sale of firearms increased the bulk distribution of firearms to gang members and increased their resale.

The report revealed that the sale of firearms saw a double profit for gang leaders who would buy a new CZ 9mm Para 75 P07 for between R10 000 and R12 000, and a second-hand version that sold for between R5 000 and R6 500.

It was said that a gang boss could access a CZ 9mm pistol on the black market for R6 000 and sell it to gang members or other parties for between R13 000 and R13 500.

Gang leaders were able to purchase a new Beretta 9mm 92 pistol, used by police, and would sell it on the legal market for between R9 500 and R14 500, and a second-hand firearm in good condition would sell for between R6 500 and R7 500.

Adele Kirsten, director of Gun Free South Africa, said the key was to reduce the number of illegal guns on the streets and to strengthen the law.

“The key service of the South African police is to recover and remove illegal firearms and ammunition. This will help to reduce the availability of guns. Another way to reduce the availability is to strengthen South African gun law.”

She said it was impossible to conclude how many unlicensed firearms were in South Africa.

“We do not know how many unlicensed guns are in SA. Most unlicensed guns were once legal before they leaked into the illegal pool.

“Leakage/diversion occurs through one of three ways: 1: Loss and theft is the most significant mechanism. Civilians – not the police – are the biggest source of illegal guns in SA, losing seven times more guns than the police.

“2: Cross-border trafficking. Contrary to common perceptions that guns are smuggled into SA from our neighbours, indications are that handguns in particular are trafficked from SA to neighbouring countries.

“3: Fraud, corruption and poor enforcement of the law. This means that people who do not meet the legal criteria of ‘fit and proper’ are illegally granted gun licences.

“AK47 assault rifles are seldom used to commit crimes. Instead, handguns (pistols and revolvers) are the weapon of choice.”