Police have recovered high calibre firearms believed to have been used in the killing of 18 people during a mass shooting at Ngobozana village in Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape.

South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, said through intelligence and meticulous detective work, the high calibre firearms, including three AK47 automatic rifles and a 243 Steyr Mannlicher rifle, were recovered on Thursday evening.

Mathe said the preliminary investigations indicate that the firearms were moved to another location after the mass killing.

‘The high calibre firearms have been taken in for ballistics testing to determine and confirm that they were indeed used in the commission of the crime and to also determine which other crime scenes can be linked to them,’ Mathe said.

Additionally, two more suspects have been arrested after they were found in possession of the rifles. The pair was arrested in Flagstaff in the Eastern Cape.

Briefing media on Thursday, National Police Commissioner, Gen
eral Fannie Masemola, commended South Africans from all walks of life for the overwhelming support in providing information on the whereabouts of the wanted suspects in the mass murders.

Masemola confirmed that in less than 24 hours from the time the SAPS issued an alert on the wanted suspects, communities rallied together and informed police on their whereabouts, and all four suspects are now in police custody.

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and Deputy Ministers Polly Boshielo and Cassel Mathale, as well as Commissioner Masemola, have commended the investigating team for the breakthrough.

READ | Lusikisiki mass murder suspect abandons bail

Counterfeit clothing items confiscated in Durban

Meanwhile, police have confiscated counterfeit high-end clothing items, worth over R15 million, during an operation conducted in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

This comes after a team that deals with contraband, counterfeit and illicit goods gathered intelligence that there were shops on Dr Pixley kaSeme Street, located in the P
oint area of Durban, which were selling counterfeit goods.

SAPS provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, said police obtained search warrants for several shops that were raided on Thursday, leading to the recovery and seizure of the counterfeit clothing items, including watches and other big brand items.

‘At least four suspects have already been arrested in the operation, which is still ongoing. All suspects are foreign nationals and their status in the country is yet to be confirmed. Once processed, the suspects will be taken to court,’ Netshiunda said.

Source: South African Government News Agency