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Two men allegedly linked to a gun-running syndicate supplying illegal miners in the Free State’s goldfields area, are set to reappear in the Virginia Magistrates’ Court on 24 April. The suspects are Siyabulela Petrus Makaleni (40) and Patrick Tebello Pitso (32).
They are facing charges of illegal possession of ammunition and illegal dealing in ammunition.
WO Fikiswa Matoti, provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, said over 100 rounds of rifle and handgun ammunition recovered. ”The accused are suspected to be suppliers of ammunition to people in possession of illegal firearms, notably illegal miners,” she said. Matoti said the pair were arrested by members of the Virginia police, after receiving information that the pair were in possession of an assortment of ammunition and looking for a buyer in Meloding. She said both Pitso and Makaleni were served with summons on 22 February and on 14 March, respectively.
Meanwhile, the case of another suspected illegal gun runner, Katiso Raymond Leputla (43), is set to continue on 6 May in the Bloemfontein Regional Court. The matter was postponed for the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team to complete their investigations, which include the origin of the firearms confiscated during Leputla’s arrest in August 2018 in Bloemfontein.
Currently out on bail, Leputla is charged with the unlawful possession of firearms. The Bloemfontein police apprehended him after discovering rifles in a white BMW X5 he was driving. The police suspected the firearms were used in an armed robbery.
Capt. Christopher Singo, provincial spokesperson of the Hawks, said Leputla was arrested, shortly after a cash-in-transit heist in Bloemfontein. The discovered firearms include an R5 rifle, a pistol, and rifle magazines. It was also reported that the car was driven without number plates when the police stopped it.
The vehicle in question was positively identified as belonging to William Bulwane, who served in two positions in the Free State government namely MEC for Police, Roads and Transport, and MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development. The politician had responded that he had taken the vehicle for repairs at the Leputla-owned Katiso Motor Clinic in Bloemfontein.
