Two of three men arrested regarding the brazen theft of weapons from the Petrusville Police Station in the Northern Cape were due to reappear in the Senekal Magistrates’ Court today for bail application.
Moqebelo Paulos Moloi (43) and Mosiwa Benjamin Motsoane (40) first appeared before the court on 14 November, while their accomplice, Orefile Moshugi (41), abandoned bail during his appearance in the Marquard Magistrates’ Court on 16 November.
The men were arrested by a multi-disciplinary team involving Hawks officers from the Northern Cape and Free State, as well as SAPS intelligence, on 11 November.
“The team pounced on the suspects while they were looking for a buyer for the stolen state firearms,” said Lt. Col Tebogo Thebe, spokesperson for the Hawks.
He said the firearms, which had been stolen on the night of 6 November, included one R5 rifle, two shotguns and one Z88 pistol.
“The theft was discovered by the incoming shift whilst compiling the handover report,” said Thebe.
He confirmed that internal investigations were underway to determine the circumstances of negligence under which the the theft took place.
He said the arrest of the first two suspects near the R70 road between Senekal and Rosendal, after the recovery of a R5 rifle with 27 rounds of ammunition, was thanks to prompt response after reliable information had been received. Moshugi was busted in Marquard after the recovery of the shotguns and the pistol.
A similar theft occurred in September 2020 at the Badplaas Police Station in Mpumalanga. A syndicate made off with a R5 rifle with 30 rounds in the magazine, two 9mm pistols with 30 rounds and an undisclosed amount of money.
