Three arrested, stolen gun confiscated

Three men were arrested and a stolen firearm recovered during a brief car chase in Rink Street, Central, on Tuesday morning.

The arrest was made by alert Metro Police officials who were patrolling the area.

Bay Metro Police Chief Yolanda Faro  said the bust came after an old model VW Jetta was spotted driving slowly in Rink Street at about 1:30am.

“The members followed the vehicle and when they turned on their blue lights to signal for the car to stop, the driver attempted to speed away,” she said.

“A brief chase ensued down from Rink Street into Doncaster Road before the vehicle was forced off the road in Park Lane.”

Faro said one of the passengers was seen throwing “an object” out of the window during the pursuit.

“Once the vehicle was stopped, members arrested all three occupants while one of the officials backtracked the car's movements looking for what was thrown out of the window,” she said.

“A .38 revolver, which had three spent cartridges inside, was found lying further down the road.”

The firearm was reported stolen after a burglary in Walmer in April.

Faro said she jumped out of bed and rushed to the scene to congratulate the members upon hearing the news.

“It might just be a stolen firearm to other people, but to us it is one less illegal firearm off the street and a potential life saved or a crime prevented,” she said.

“I went down there to show them my support and congratulate them for a job well done. As we are all aware, firearms are used to commit several crimes from murders and hijackings to robberies.”

Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the three men, aged 25,27 and 30 years, were detained at Humewood Police Station.

“Detectives will be interviewing the suspects and profiling them to determine if they can be linked to further crimes. The firearm is also going for ballistic testing to determine if it has been used in other crimes,” she said.

The car was impounded and taken to the police station for detectives to gather evidence and determine if it is connected to other reported crimes.

Naidu added that another firearm, also a revolver, was recovered at about 6pm on Monday by police from the Operational Command Centre who were patrolling in Lawrence Street, Central.

“The officials stopped to search the three suspects and found a.38 revolver and ammunition in possession of one of the men. The man was arrested and the firearm confiscated,” she said.

All the suspects are due to appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on Wednesday for illegal possession of a firearm.