In a coordinated crackdown on Tuesday, 9 December 2025, police in KwaZulu-Natal arrested five suspects, ranging in age from 34 to 70 years old, for the possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. The arrests and recoveries were the result of separate, intelligence-driven operations conducted in the Melmoth and Nkandla policing precincts.
The first operation was initiated by police officers from the Ulundi Public Order Policing (POP) unit in the Thubalethu area under Melmoth. Acting on credible information about individuals suspected of holding illegal firearms, a team targeted a house in the area. Upon searching the premises, they discovered a stripped shotgun. A 35-year-old foreign national present at the house could not produce any documentation permitting him to possess the firearm and was immediately arrested and charged.
Police then proceeded to a second targeted house in Thubalethu, where they arrested a 34-year-old suspect after finding two unlicensed shotguns in his possession, one of which was a double-barrel model. Investigators indicated this suspect is likely to be linked to pending murder cases in the Melmoth area.
In a parallel operation on the same day, the King Cetshwayo District Essential Infrastructure Task Team, collaborating with private security, focused on the Nkandla policing precinct. In the Ohlelo area, they arrested a 70-year-old suspect for possession of an unlicensed AK47 assault rifle.
The team then moved to the Nxamalala area, where they apprehended a 48-year-old suspect found with an unlicensed shotgun and forty-eight (48) rounds of ammunition. The final arrest of the operation was a 52-year-old suspect discovered in possession of an unlicensed R5 rifle along with thirteen (13) rounds of ammunition.
According to police, all recovered firearms will undergo ballistic testing to determine if they were used in the commission of any other crimes.
All five arrested suspects are scheduled to appear at the Melmoth and Nkandla Magistrate’s Courts respectively on Wednesday, 10 December 2025.