Police in KwaZulu-Natal have arrested four suspects in connection with an arms cache that was found at a house in Durban's Westville on Thursday.
SABC news reports that the cache consists of a large number of high caliber rifles and hand guns, along with an assortment of ammunition. The weapons are brand new and police believe they were destined for Somalia.
The house had been under police surveillance for some time now. Members of the Crime Intelligence Unit and senior Westville detectives pounced on Thursday. Among the four suspects arrested are two women who police say could be foreigners.
It is believed the suspects are somehow linked to the piracy that is going on off the Somali coast. South African Police Services spokesperson Vincent Mdunge says more arrests will follow.
"There are highly dangerous weapons all made up of high caliber fire arms, telescopic make. They are coming from Asian countries. We strongly believe that they were previously intended for the prevention of piracy on the sea and how they then ended up in South Africa is a mystery.
"We are quite hopeful that our investigation will bring perpetrators of the crime to book - including the suspects that are still at large," says Mdunge.
The suspects are due to appear in the Pinetown Magistrate's Court tomorrow on contravention of the new fire arms and ammunition act charges.
