A station commander and 13 senior officers at Mitchells Plain Police Station have been suspended after 15 firearms disappeared from the cop shop two weeks ago.
On Monday, Brigadier Cass Goolam and 13 shift commanders were told they are being formally investigated.
Yesterday, Provincial police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut, would not comment on the suspension and said their investigations were classified.
Traut said: “Kindly be advised that the suspension of a member is regarded as an internal process between the employee and the employer and the detail thereof is not open for discussion.”
Goolam did not respond to queries for comment.
A top police source confirmed the suspension relating to the missing guns, saying: “The Station Commander and the shift commanders at Mitchells Plain were suspended over those missing guns of the stabilisation unit.”
Fifteen 9mm firearms went missing at Mitchells Plain Police Station two weeks ago.
Initially it was believed R5 rifles had disappeared, and this was blamed on the City of Cape Town’s Stabilisation Unit members not filling out forms correctly.
However, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, said his members were not given police-issue firearms and had their own storage facility.
In August, 18 firearms used as exhibits also went missing at Bellville South Police Station.
MEC for Community Safety, Dan Plato, says he is fully behind the police investigation.
“I support the full investigation underway and will be following up, as part of my oversight mandate, with the Provincial Commissioner as the details of how this was possible comes to light.”