The barber who was arrested with five other people after an arms stash was discovered on the Cape Flats has been released.
Clive van Schalkwyk, 41, who had just popped in to cut someone’s hair, as well as Mohamed Shaid, 42, looked relieved yesterday as Prosecutor Christian De Jong said the charges against them are being withdrawn because they had “no attachment to the weapons, people or property” where the raid was made.
Magistrate Paul Visagie excused them from the dock.
However, their co-accused, homeowner Johannes Abrahams, 66, his son Johannes Junior Abrahams, aka Bal, 41, and daughter Bonita Abrahams, 38, are not so lucky, and face charges relating to the unlawful possession of prohibited firearms, the unlawful possession of prohibited ammunition and tampering with serial numbers in the Goodwood Magistrates' Court.
This after cops found more than 250 police-issue firearms locked in three safes under the bedroom floor in their house in Lydia Street in Valhalla Park on Friday.
Police sources believe the weapons are linked to convicted former cop, Colonel Christiaan Prinsloo, who admitted to stealing guns headed for destruction and selling them to gangsters on the Cape Flats.
The source said the Valhalla Park find was the culmination of a two-year, ongoing investigation into illegal arms dealing in South Africa.
He said cops were following up on information from an informant outside Valhalla Park, and came prepared with metal detectors, crowbars and digging equipment.
Johannes Junior looked a little worse for wear yesterday — his one eye is completely bloodshot.
Outside court, Lorraine Taylor told Daily Voice her brother was beaten up by police officers on Friday when her father’s house was searched.
A Valhalla Park resident also claimed the Abrahams family had only recently moved back to their home in Lydia Street.
“The house had been rented out to foreigners and now police soema find weapons on the property. Something is not right here. We will leave it in God’s hands,” the woman said.
Lorraine added that her parents moved back a year ago.
Meanwhile, members of the 28s gang in Valhalla Park who were also at court, were kwaad over the arrests.
“Abrahams and his father were beaten up and kept hostage for 10 hours in their own home. It was unnecessary and illegal,” one member said.
The case has been postponed to Thursday November 3 for bail information.