JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 23– South African police announced on Thursday that they have destroyed 18,000 firearms, firearm parts and ammunition. “These firearms have either been forfeited to the state or voluntarily handed in. Some were used in crimes such as gender-based violence and cash-in-transit armed robberies,” the police said in a statement. All firearms underwent ballistic testing to determine if they were linked to other serious crimes, according to the police. South Africa has seen an increase in crime, as indicated by the latest crime statistics presented by Police Minister Bheki Cele on Feb. 16. The data showed that more than 7,700 people were murdered across the country between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023, an increase of 155 from the same period the previous year.
Xinhua
