The Hawks are investigating after brazen thieves broke into the Simon's Town naval base and stole a cache of guns and ammunition.
Highly placed police sources tell the Daily Voice that dozens of hand granades, machine guns and ammunition were stolen from a warehouse.
Some of the stolen items include four 9mm Uzzi machine guns, 72 “high-explosive” grenades, one R1 rifle, and one M1 rifle.
The robbery happened between Friday and Monday.
It’s believed the skelms gained access at the armament depot situated in Klawer Road, Simon's Town, by breaking the locks.
An employee at a nearby construction site who asked to remain anonymous says his colleagues reported a suspicious bakkie in the area at the base.
“On Friday afternoon there was an Isuzu bakkie driving up and down here, then (on Monday) there was an Opel driving around,” the man tells the Daily Voice.
“When we arrived (on Monday) we saw the police driving towards the base. The thieves also broke into our containers and into someone’s house.
While security in the area seemed tight yesterday, the Daily Voice easily made our way to the depot where the break-in was reported.
Hawks spokesman Captain Lloyd Ramovha says investigations into housebreaking and theft are still underway and no arrests have been made yet.
“The exact number of stolen firearms is yet to be established. The case is being investigated by Crime Against the State Unit of the Hawks (CATS) as the Naval Base is a National Key Point and therefore falls within the mandate of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation,” Ramovha adds.
The SA Navy did not respond to queries.