Simon’s Town Naval Base robbery – Minister Plato welcomes arrests

Statement by Dan Plato, Western Cape Minister of Community Safety

I welcome the swift arrests of suspects involved in the robbery which has occurred at the Simon’s Town Naval Base over the weekend together with the recovery of some of the stolen items.

However, the full investigation can only be successfully closed once all stolen weapons and ammunition are recovered, and arrests are made for all those responsible for both the planning and execution of the robbery, as well as the dealing in stolen weaponry.

Every single gun and bullet stolen has the potential to take a life – or up to 15 lives as has been found in the case of former Gauteng based SAPS Colonel Christiaan Prinsloo, who was found guilty of trafficking guns from within police arms caches to gangsters in the Western Cape.

The safety of the people of the Western Cape can only be assured once all responsible face the full might of the law, and successful convictions in court sees criminals behind bars.

The arrests, however, do go some way toward renewing my confidence that all law enforcement agencies are working to uphold the law and keep our communities safe.

These arrests should also encourage people to come forward with information that can assist the investigation, lead to further arrests or provide linkages for where the stolen weapons and ammunition was intended to be trafficked. We call on members of the public to come forward and assist the police.

I urge anyone who has any information on the burglary at the Naval Base to report this information to their closest police station or to call the SAPS Crime Stop number 08600 10111.