Inside South Africa’s Hidden Gun Pipeline: How Lost Police Firearms Are Powering Violent Crime

When South Africans talk about violent crime, the blame often lands on “illegal guns” smuggled in from beyond our borders. But the uncomfortable truth is closer to home.

South Africa’s shadow firearms economy is not driven by foreign traffickers slipping weapons through border posts. It is being fed from within the country’s own legal gun system, police armouries, licensed civilian owners, private security firms, and a firearms registry riddled with gaps.

Guns Meant to Protect, Now Used to Kill

A parliamentary reply late last year revealed a chilling statistic: more than 3,400 SAPS-issued firearms were lost or stolen between 2019 and 2024. Of those, just 559 were ever recovered.

That means thousands of police weapons designed to protect communities have quietly slipped into criminal hands. According to the Democratic Alliance, many are now being used in murders, robberies, assaults, gang violence, and cash-in-transit heists.

For ordinary South Africans, this translates into a brutal irony: the gun pointed at them may once have belonged to the state.

A Crisis Measured in Numbers

Over the past five years, SAPS confiscated 21,702 illegal firearms, with 6,853 linked directly to murder cases. Independent analysis shows that more than 40% of murders in South Africa involve a firearm.

The provinces most affected, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Gauteng also record the highest rates of illegal gun seizures and gun-related killings.

Research by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime estimates that around 3.8 million unregistered firearms circulate across South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. Many originate from civilian losses or stolen state weapons, with minimal oversight once they disappear.

Not a Smuggling Problem, a System Failure

Despite popular belief, 99% of illegal firearms in South Africa are domestically sourced. Gun Free South Africa confirms that cross-border smuggling has declined sharply since the 1990s. In the 2023/24 financial year, only 56 illegal firearms were seized at ports of entry, down from 179 a decade ago.

The real leakage happens locally from police armouries, homes, and private security operations.

In the 2023/24 year alone, 7,736 firearms were reported stolen and 716 lost. Nearly 2,500 recovered weapons had no serial numbers, making them impossible to trace.

One Gun, Many Victims

A Gauteng Legislature briefing illustrated just how deadly this pipeline is. In July 2025, police arrested two suspects in Meyersdal and recovered 30 unlicensed 9mm firearms believed to be part of a trafficking syndicate.

One of the most haunting examples: a gun used in the 2022 murder of DJ Sumbody and his bodyguards was later linked to at least 10 other murders across provinces. One weapon. Ten crime scenes. Countless lives changed.

Civilian and Private Security Blind Spots

Firearms lost or stolen from private owners are among the most common sources of illegal guns, according to Global Initiative research. Private security companies heavily armed due to cash-in-transit risks also face theft and internal collusion.

Once a gun enters the illegal market, experts say, it almost never comes back.

The Registry That Can’t Keep Up

The Central Firearms Registry is meant to track every weapon from purchase to destruction. In reality, weak record-keeping and poor oversight make it alarmingly easy for guns to vanish.

“This isn’t a case of a few bad apples,” said Professor Kholofelo Rakubu of Tshwane University of Technology. “Firearms can disappear from state custody with little trace and even less consequence.”

Why This Matters Now

Illegal firearms are the backbone of South Africa’s most violent crimes, from organised gangs to gender-based violence. Every lost gun represents a future victim, often many.

Experts agree that policing alone won’t fix this. Without tight audits, proper firearm tracking, and accountability for losses, the cycle will continue.

Until then, South Africa’s deadliest weapons won’t be crossing borders, they’ll be slipping quietly through the cracks at home.

{Source: IOL}

Follow Joburg ETC on Facebook, Twitter , TikTok and Instagram

For more News in Johannesburg, visit joburgetc.com