Brazen theft of firearms in KwaZulu-Natal raises concerns of organised crime

The brazen theft of multiple high-powered firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition from a KwaZulu-Natal police strong room is raising alarms, with security experts suggesting the sophisticated break-in at the Ulundi K9 Unit points to a targeted attack by an organised crime syndicate. 

KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said Ulundi police have opened a theft case after suspects broke into the K9 Unit premises in Ulundi.

He said the break-in was discovered on Monday after a police officer reporting for duty around 5.30am noticed the Logistics Office door was wide open.

Initial investigation revealed that the back door of the building had been forced open. Suspects gained entry to the strong room by forcing open its roof, a fact that became clear when police opened the strong room.

“The following items were stolen from the strong room: One R5 rifle, one shotgun, four pistols, 152 rounds of ammunition for a pistol, 290 rounds of R5 rifle, 13 handcuffs, three empty R5 magazines, and six empty pistol magazines,” Netshiunda said. 

“Investigations are ongoing, and authorities are also looking internally to determine if there was any breach of firearm security protocols or any negligence in the safeguarding of firearms and ammunition.” 

Netshiunda requested the public to share any information concerning this incident with the closest police station or by calling the Crime Stop number at 08600 10111.

Institute for Security Studies security expert Willem Els said police firearms have long been a target for criminals and criminal networks.

He said that as a police specialised unit, the K9 Unit is typically deployed armed with R5s and handguns, utilising a variety of firearms and ammunition.

“It seems that it is a targeted attack by an organised crime syndicate. But also, they targeted the dog unit because they might have had some inside information, which should be investigated,” Els said.

“It seems that they had advanced knowledge of the layout, where the strong room is, the weak spot in the roof of the strong room, etc. And the fact that they could enter and only be discovered the next morning, it raises an alarm.” 

Els said it also speaks to the safety of guns stored by police. 

“They also have to adhere to the legislation, and the strong rooms have to be secured in such a way that there are no weak spots, such as in this case, where they just entered through the ceiling, which appears to be unprotected,” Els said.

He added that stealing empty magazines is significant because, like ammunition, a gun is useless without them. A magazine allows for continuous fire, whereas without one, a person can only fire a single shot at a time. 

University of Stellenbosch criminologist Dr Guy Lamb said: “Criminals have targeted police stations, whether they’re gangs or organised criminal groups, because they can acquire larger quantities of firearms, sometimes more high-powered firearms, particularly semi-automatic weapons and ammunition in one action, where if you want to acquire firearms, typically you have to steal them or rob people of their firearms.”

He said they have seen cases where police have been targeted, especially small rural stations, which tend to be understaffed.

“It does typically happen at night or in the early hours of the morning, where outside groups target these particular police stations and their armouries for their firearms and ammunition,” Lamb said. 

He noted that in some instances, police corruption sometimes leads to police or administrative officials granting outside groups access to weapon stores and armouries.

“The point here is about the security measures that are put in place. In some police stations, you have premises, you have the SAPS 13 storerooms, the armouries that are very well protected, very difficult for outside groups to break in,” Lamb said. 

“Police stations need to increase their security, not only target hardening, ensuring that it’s very difficult to break in and steal firearms and ammunition, but also to do proper guarding and monitoring.” 

Lamb said the police, metro police, law enforcement, and traffic departments should conduct proper audits of their weapons safekeeping to ensure that the vulnerabilities are addressed. 

thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za