Riot Hlatshwayo

Riot Hlatshwayo

A Mpumalanga policeman was one of the two suspects who appeared before a magistrate's court on Monday on charges of unlawful possession of firearms.

Constable Given Mthembu, 27, who is attached to the Mpumalanga government, and his friend Nkosinathi Lubisi, 32, were not asked to plead to the charges in the Matsulu magistrate's court.

They were both granted R1000 bail pending their next court appearance on December 28.

The two suspects were arrested shortly after midnight last Friday when a team of police detectives pulled their car over at about 12.10am.

"Our members were suspicious of the vehicle. They searched it but found nothing. It was only after they had proceeded to the policeman's house that they found a .22 rifle as well as its ammunition and a 7.65 pistol," said Matsulu police spokesman Inspector Moses Shirindza yesterday.

The police then arrested both suspects and charged them with the unlawful possession of illegal firearms