A total of 5 138 firearms, mostly illegal have been destroyed during an ongoing firearm operation since last year in the Western Cape, police said on Saturday.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Riaan Pool said the ongoing operation started on September 2003 and has seen about 967 people being arrested for possession of illegal firearms.
Pool said most of the firearms which were destroyed on Saturday were either handed in voluntarily by members of the public, forfeited, or confiscated by police as unlicenced.
He added: ”Before destroying the firearms, they are thoroughly tested to ensure they had not been used in the commission of crimes that are still under investigation”.
Pool said the operation was also aimed at recycling the metal contained in the firearms. – Sapa