A pie-munching “shoplifter” armed with a pistol found himself at the centre of a standoff with tactical police at the Westville police station on Monday night.

The impasse‚ which lasted several hours‚ saw members of the elite Special Task Force deployed in the suburb as the gun-wielding man holed himself up in a cell.

How the man managed to conceal a handgun from the time he was arrested until the point he was placed in a holding cell remains a mystery.

According to sources with knowledge of the incident‚ the man had been detained for eating a pie in a shop and not paying for the pastry.

Once inside the police cells at the station he is said to have produced a gun and held himself hostage‚ threatening to take his own life. The dramatic threat saw the station officers sending out a call for help‚ with a trained hostage negotiator and the tactical unit responding.

Several hours passed before the man finally gave in to the pleas of the negotiator‚ handing over his gun and surrendering himself – again.

Police spokesperson captain Nqobile Gwala said a case of theft was being investigated after Westville SAPS arrested a 38-year-old suspect for bilking at a business premises in Westville.

"Later in the night the police received an anonymous call informing them that the suspect in the holding cells had a firearm. Backup was called and he was asked to declare if he had a firearm in his possession‚ he drew it out and pointed it on his forehead. The police managed to negotiate with the suspect and he was later disarmed."

Gwala said an internal investigation will be conducted to establish how he was allowed into the police cells with a firearm. She said the suspect will appear in the Pinetown Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.