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- Police had a busy week in the Western Cape confiscating illegal guns.
- They also freed a man kidnapped in Kraaifontein, and held captive in Philippi.
- A hijacked Audi was also recovered after a chase which involved the car thief trying to push the cops off the road.
A kidnap victim was tracked down and freed by the Western Cape's Provincial Extortion Task Team on Friday night, police said.
In a statement, they added the task team and Kraaifontein Crime Intelligence Division conducted a high-risk operation to free the man.
The police received information the victim was at a heavily guarded shack in the densely populated Browns Farm in Philippi.
They had to breach a security gate to get to him.
The police recovered his light delivery vehicle in the Samora Machel informal settlement.
The victim was taken to the hospital, and the investigation continues.
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Meanwhile, it was a week of seizing guns.
A .38 Special revolver and CZ83 Browning pistol and ammunition were recovered by the Anti-Gang Unit in Cafda Village on Sunday morning following a tip-off. A 29-year-old was arrested.
Police proceeded with tracing operations and went to Steenberg, where a 28-year-old was arrested for a murder in the suburb in January.
Both the men, who were arrested, are allegedly affiliated to gangs in Steenberg.
Early on Saturday, police traced a suspect to an address in Heinz Park, and after questioning, he went to the yard, dug up a .38 revolver wrapped in a blue plastic bag with five rounds, and gave it to the police.
Later on Saturday, Elsie's River police reservists were on duty and heard heavy gunfire.
They saw a suspect running into a house in Forest Drive with an object in his hand, but then he reemerged empty-handed and disappeared between the houses. The reservists investigated and found a 9mm Browning pistol with two rounds of ammunition lying in front of a Wendy house.
On Friday night, police on foot patrol in Taiwan, Site C, Khayelitsha, searched a dwelling with five people inside. One of them tried to run away but was caught. When he was searched, police found a CZ pistol on him. He was arrested.
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During the same operation, police searched a bar in Site C and seized a Lorcin pistol that was later found to have been reported as stolen at De Doorns police in 2019. The firearm was found outside the bar.
On Thursday night, the Maitland Flying Squad retrieved a Rossi .38 Special firearm, with the serial number filed off, in Kuils River.
On Friday, the Flying Squad in Mitchells Plain arrested a man after a high-speed chase through the suburb. He was driving a hijacked Audi 1.
The driver failed to stop at first, driving into oncoming traffic and trying to push the police off the road. He also allegedly pointed a gun at the police. Police fired shots at the vehicle, which eventually came to a stop.
He was arrested for being in possession of a stolen vehicle and attempted murder. The suspect was taken to hospital for treatment. It turned out the gun he used was fake.
In Saldanha, the West Coast Dog Unit arrested one person for cable theft.
The cables appeared to be the property of Telkom. The alleged thief caused damage estimated at around R200 000.
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