Law enforcement authorities from South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho have strengthened regional cooperation in the fight against the proliferation of illegal firearms, resulting in the safe transportation and destruction of 1 787 firearms seized during crime-combating operations in Lesotho.
The joint initiative between the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) takes place in the context of African Amnesty Month and contributes to the African Union’s broader Silencing the Guns objective and its vision, under Agenda 2063, of a peaceful, secure and prosperous Africa free from the scourge of illicit firearms.
The Acting National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, together with the Lesotho Mounted Police Service Police Chief, Commissioner (Advocate) Borotho Matsoso, on Friday jointly presided over the destruction of the firearms.
“These firearms were seized by LMPS officers during various crime-combating initiatives and targeted operations in the Kingdom of Lesotho,” the SAPS said in a statement.
Speaking at the destruction, Lieutenant General Dimpane reaffirmed SAPS’s commitment to strengthening international and regional police cooperation through joint investigations, information exchange, intelligence-led operations, coordinated border management and the tracing and removal of illegal firearms from circulation.
“As we observe African Amnesty Month, this partnership between SAPS and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service demonstrates what regional cooperation can achieve. We are not only taking firearms out of circulation, we are taking concrete steps towards the Africa we want to see by 2063, an Africa where communities are safer and where illicit firearms no longer fuel crime and violence,” Lieutenant General Dimpane said.
Commissioner (Advocate) Matsoso reiterated the importance of sustained cross-border collaboration between law enforcement agencies and thanked SAPS and all relevant role players involved in ensuring the success of the joint initiative.
“Continued cooperation between the Lesotho Mounted Police Service and SAPS is important to uproot crimes such as human trafficking, stock theft, car theft and truck trafficking. Today’s destruction demonstrates collaboration between two countries committed to fighting crime together,” Advocate Matsoso said.
The National Central Bureaus of INTERPOL in South Africa and Lesotho played a pivotal role in facilitating and coordinating the movement of the firearms between the two countries.
This underscores the importance of international police cooperation and coordinated mechanisms in combating the proliferation and cross-border movement of illegal firearms.
SAPS continues to demonstrate its commitment to effective firearms control through sustained processes aimed at permanently removing illegal firearms from circulation. Just two months ago, SAPS destroyed 11 859 firearms, together with 4 089 blank guns and airguns.
“The destruction of these 1 787 firearms therefore forms part of ongoing efforts by law enforcement authorities in the region to ensure that weapons seized through policing operations do not find their way back into the hands of criminals.
“The SAPS and LMPS partnership demonstrates the value of regional cooperation, information sharing and coordinated policing under the SADC and SARPCCO frameworks.
“Such collaborative efforts are essential to disrupting transnational organised crime, tracing illicit firearms and contributing to the continental objective of Silencing the Guns by 2030 and advancing the Africa envisioned under Agenda 2063,” the police said. – SAnews.gov.za
Source: Original report at SAnews.gov.za.
