eThekwini District policing board calls for transparency in SAPS firearm and drug destruction

THE eThekwini District Policing Board has recommended that community policing structures be present to witness the destruction of firearms and drugs by the South African Police Service (SAPS). The proposal was made during a briefing where SAPS presented crime statistics for the fourth quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year, covering the period 1 January to 31 March 2025.

Regarding illegal firearms and ammunition, SAPS statistics show that 1,641 firearms and 24,288 rounds of ammunition were seized during the reporting period. In February 2025, the SAPS reported the destruction of 16,049 firearms, either confiscated during operations or voluntarily surrendered to authorities. On the drug enforcement front, 23,306 suspects were arrested for possession, while 3,471 were taken into custody for dealing. In total, drugs with an estimated street value of R340 million were destroyed.

In South Africa, firearms were used in 2,559 murders, with 638 in KwaZulu-Natal, 697 in Gauteng, and 590 recorded in the Western Cape. Police recorded the use of firearms in 3,519 attempted murders, with Gauteng recording 1,039 incidents and KZN 890 incidents.

The Inanda SAPS also featured in the top 10 for the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, with 38 being recorded, 16 more than the previous year's quarterly period. 

Aidan David, the chairperson of the eThekwini District policing board, said he was grateful for the sterling work that is done by the SAPS, but advocated for the Community Policing Forums (CPF) to view the destruction processes of all drugs, firearms, and ammunition.

David said there should be transparency in the process to dispel rumours that confiscated firearms and drugs were recirculated in communities. 

“I also like to thank the community for their input in combating crime and being the eyes and ears for the SAPS. I would like to encourage the community to join their local CPF structures and become participants in the fight against crime rather than just being complainants,” David said. 

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu outlined the policing priorities, which include: reducing the murder rate, reducing illegal firearms and tightening controls over legal firearms, dismantling organised crime, including drug trafficking syndicates. 

Mchunu said a total of 178,757 suspects were arrested in this period under review.

“It has been reported that the prison population has exceeded; this is indicative of the police work that leads to arrests, sentencing, and ultimately, imprisonment. The key to the fight against crime is improving the efficiency of our forensic services. We are increasing the number of our laboratories throughout the country, and we are equipping them with state-of-the-art equipment and technology,” Mchunu said. 

National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, stated that firearms remain a persistent problem posing a significant challenge to public safety, and that is why police remove no less than 100 illegal firearms from the wrong hands, weekly. 

Masemola stated that 12,502 handguns, 1,921 rifles, and 1,304 shotguns were recovered. In six years, the SAPS has destroyed 279,592 illegal and unwanted firearms.

“We have registered a number of takedowns and major successes where our main focus was to clamp down on organised syndicates that are involved in the manufacturing and trafficking of drugs through targeted operations,” Masemola said.

He said most of the drug traffickers are coming into the country from Brazil and are found to have swallowed these drugs.

He said that through targeted intelligence operations, they have been able to intercept more than 20 drug traffickers in the last six months.

According to Masemola, in March 2025, he oversaw the destruction of drugs worth R340 million in the Western Cape.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za