Steenberg police are urging the community to come forward with information that could lead to successful convictions.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said the precinct’s efforts to bring criminals to book and secure convictions in court are yielding positive results on charges relating to murders and possession of unlicensed firearms.
On Thursday September 19 last year, Grant Benjamin, 25, was found guilty in the Wynberg Regional Court of the possession of an unlicensed firearm and
ammunition. He had been arrested in May 2015 and was handed a
six-year imprisonment sentence, four years of which were suspended.
In an unrelated matter, Elton Malgas, 32, was also sentenced to eight years imprisonment, of which four was suspended, in the Wynberg Regional Court in October last year, for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. He had been arrested in July last year.
In another unrelated murder case, Riaan De Wee, 32, was found guilty for murder, attempted murder and the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition by the same court. The offence was committed in August 2018 and he was sentenced to 24 years imprisonment on these charges, with the sentences running concurrently.
On behalf of the station, Sergeant Twiggs thanked Sergeant Mark Lucas who worked tirelessly on the cases and attended court hearings and opposed bail so that the convictions could be secured.
Station commander Colonel Jan Alexander welcomed the convictions and commended the investigating officer for his hard work.
Colonel Alexander also encourage the community to come forward with information that can help with the investigation in other cases so that more convictions can be secured in court.