Gun, ammo and a mattress — Eastern Cape woman’s midnight surprise

Gun

Qumbu, Eastern Cape – A 51-year-old woman was arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning after police discovered an unlicensed 9mm pistol and live ammunition hidden under a mattress at her home in Upper Lotana, Qumbu.

According to a statement from the Eastern Cape Provincial SAPS, the arrest followed an intelligence-driven operation carried out by Mthatha Public Order Police at around 00:40.

Officers executed a search warrant at the woman’s homestead and uncovered a Norinco pistol with an intact serial number, two magazines, and six live rounds of ammunition.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the firearm is registered to a 53-year-old man from Carolusberg near Springbok in the Northern Cape. Police confirmed that the gun had not been reported stolen, and investigations into how it ended up in the woman’s possession are ongoing.

The suspect is expected to appear in the Qumbu Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 28 July 2025, on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

OR Tambo District Commissioner Major General Norman Modishana commended the officers involved, reaffirming the SAPS’s commitment to tackling illegal firearms in the area.

“We will make sure that communities of OR Tambo District are safe and also feel safe by removing all illegal/unlicensed firearms from the streets and villages of the district,” he said.

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