Two Fidelity guards were arrested in China Town Ottery on Tuesday morning for the illegal possession of a shotgun while on duty.
Grassy Park Police station commander Colonel Dawood Laing said: “Two males, aged 40 and 27, were arrested while they were on duty at China Town in Ottery.
“The 27-year-old was in possession of a shotgun that he was neither licensed for nor competent to handle such a dangerous weapon.
“The issue we have is that the weapon could have been used in a crime as it could have been easily handed over to the wrong hands or, had it been used by an incompetent handler during a shooting, it endangers the lives of the public.”
According to the colonel, the 40-year-old guard was charged for handing over the weapon that he signed for to his unlicensed colleague.
“We believe that guards with shotguns can demand a higher pay while on duty so they sign out the weapons and hand it over to other people which of course is illegal and against protocol,” says Laing.
“The officers on duty have been monitoring the situation for some time and were able to successfully make the arrest at 11.40am during their patrol.”
He says the two guards will face charges of illegal possession of a firearm and the supply of a dangerous weapon.
Wahl Bartmann, group chief executive of Fidelity Services Group, confirmed the arrest of two of their staff members and said that the guards acted against protocol.
“We are cooperating with the SAPS in their investigation,” Bartmann says.
“We have also launched our own internal investigation to ascertain if our officers adhered to the procedures that they are trained to follow at all times.”