{"id":19119,"date":"2026-01-12T16:23:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T16:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/19119\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T16:23:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T16:23:19","slug":"foreign-national-arrested-after-found-with-rocket-launcher-in-ekurhuleni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/19119\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreign national arrested after found with rocket launcher in Ekurhuleni"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n\t\tAfter receiving information, police found a rocket launcher and military-grade explosives at the suspect\u2019s house\n\t<\/p>\n<p>A 33-year-old foreign national was arrested in Malvern East, Ekurhuleni, after he was found in possession of a rocket launcher and military explosives.<\/p>\n<p>Man caught with rocket launcher and explosives<\/p>\n<p>The police\u2019s anti-gang unit and the officers from the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) conducted an operation at the suspect\u2019s house on Friday after receiving information that he had high-calibre weapons there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn operation was conducted and the police pounced on the house and found the suspects with explosives,\u201d said Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo.<\/p>\n<p>The City of Johannesburg\u2019s Public safety MMC Mgcini Tshwaku added that officers recovered military-grade explosives, including an RPG-7 launcher, boosters and rounds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe suspect failed to provide lawful authorisation and was arrested for possession of military explosives,\u201d said Tshwaku.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis operation reflects decisive, intelligence-driven enforcement. There is no space for organised violence or illegal weaponry in our city.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ALSO READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/news\/south-africa\/crime\/foreign-national-arrested-possession-explosives-beitbridge-border\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Foreign national arrested for possession of explosives near Beitbridge border<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Masondo said the suspect will appear before the Germiston Magistrate\u2019s Court and is facing charges of possession of military explosives.<\/p>\n<p>Two arrested for possession of illegal firearms<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, in the Free State, two suspects were arrested in separate operations for being in possession of illegal firearms.<\/p>\n<p>Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Mmako Mophiring said the first suspect was arrested in Vrede on Thursday when community members raised the alarm about a man with a gun at a local bottle store.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPolice responded swiftly and searched the suspect, where they recovered a 9mm firearm with ammunition concealed on his waist. The firearm had no licence, and the serial number had been filed off,\u201d said Mophiring.<\/p>\n<p>ALSO READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/news\/south-africa\/crime\/vehicles-firearm-recovered-soweto-cit-heist\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Vehicles, firearm recovered as two suspects apprehended over Soweto CIT heist<\/a><\/p>\n<p>A case of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition has been opened. Forensic ballistic analysis will also be done to determine if the gun was used in other crimes.<\/p>\n<p>Then, on Saturday, tip-offs from community members also led to the arrest of another suspect in Marquard who was allegedly pointing his firearm at people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPolice immediately acted on the information and proceeded to the identified address. Upon arrival, the suspect was found in possession of a 9mm pistol and ammunition, without a valid licence,\u201d said Mophiring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After receiving information, police found a rocket launcher and military-grade explosives at the suspect\u2019s house A 33-year-old foreign&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[8554,5672,5728,1179,131],"class_list":{"0":"post-19119","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa","8":"tag-crime-and-courts","9":"tag-ekurhuleni","10":"tag-illegal-firearms","11":"tag-police","12":"tag-south-africa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}