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Daily Maverick
04-07-2025
- Daily Maverick
Fourteen suspects arrested for Mitchells Plain gang shootings that left five dead, seven injured
Following three separate gang shootings in Mitchells Plain, which killed five people and injured seven others, 14 suspects aged between 20 and 39 were arrested in connection with the murders and attempted murders. The shootings are believed to be linked to an ongoing turf war in the area. The Mitchells Plain gang violence that left five dead and seven injured occurred in Beacon Valley, Tafelsig and Town Centre on Thursday, 3 July 2025, during the school holiday when many children were playing outside and in harm's way. Mitchells Plain is among the red zone areas in the Cape Flats and to protect the safety of officials, ambulance crews are not allowed to enter red zone areas without a South African Police Service (SAPS) escort. According to police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa, the shooting started at about 12.30pm on Thursday. 'Five people were shot at in a tuckshop in Beacon Valley. Two died and three were injured. Also in Beacon Valley, four more people were shot at in another tuckshop. One died, while three others were wounded. 'In the third shooting incident, another person was shot and injured in Beacon Valley. In two other shooting incidents that occurred in Tafelsig and Town Centre, two fatalities were recorded respectively,' Potelwa said. Residents were terrified and took to social media to call on the police to intervene and quell the violence. All the incidents, Novela said, were believed to be gang-related, and the police immediately initiated a manhunt for the suspects, with multidisciplinary deployments bolstering their efforts to prevent further violence and to arrest those responsible for these heinous acts. Norman Jantjies, the chairperson of the Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum (CPF), has stated several times that residents are under siege and that the violence is affecting households throughout the neighbourhood. His calls for urgent collaboration between law enforcement agencies and residents to fight the problem of gang violence appear to have been fruitless. Successful hunt for suspects Elaborating on the hunt for the suspects, police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk on Friday stated that from 2pm on Thursday to 2am on Friday, SAPS members were divided into teams, and areas such as Beacon Valley, Tafelsig and Portlands were targeted, and several houses were searched. According to Van Wyk, a total of 43 houses suspected of being affiliated with gang members were searched. At one house, a licensed 9mm Norinco pistol and ammunition were confiscated. 'Fourteen suspects aged between 20 and 39 were arrested for murder and attempted murder, and a 30-year-old suspect was arrested for the illegal possession of ammunition. 'Five firearms and an assortment of ammunition were confiscated, and seven suspects aged between 17 and 46 were arrested for the possession of unlicensed firearms and prohibited firearms and ammunition,' he said. Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile applauded the SAPS members and said that these operations would continue until he was satisfied that the perpetrators had been brought to book and calm had been restored to the area. Meanwhile, City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security JP Smith condemned the incidents and emphasised that the shootings in Mitchells Plain were a direct threat to the safety and wellbeing of communities. The Safety and Security Directorate, Smith said, was working closely with the SAPS and additional staff members had been deployed to the area on Thursday, including officers attached to the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan, the Metro Police Tactical Response Unit and the Traffic Services' Roadblock Unit. All the suspects are due to appear in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate's Court on Monday, 7 July, on their respective charges. DM
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Time of India
‘Didwana arms case has links to 300cr heroin haul in Barmer'
1 2 Jaipur: Police in Didwana have stepped up their probe into a cross-border smuggling case in which they arrested two arms and drug smugglers on June 27 for supplying Austrian Glock and Chinese Norinco pistols. It has emerged that the case has links to a massive Rs 300-crore heroin consignment seized by Punjab's Amritsar police near the India-Pakistan border in Barmer on June 30. Canada-based Joben Kaler was identified as the main overseas handler of the heroin consignment. Didwana-Kuchaman police had arrested Mohammad Ilyas from Khunkhuna and Amarjeet Singh Takhar, alias Prince, from Jalandhar with two imported pistols and parts for three more weapons. During questioning, they revealed links to Dubai-based smuggler Asgar Ali. The weapons were being sent to India through Pakistani couriers named Tofiq, Mohammad Ishaq, and Joben Kaler. Police said the weapons, including Glock 9 mm and Norinco pistols typically used by military forces, were meant for gangs operating in different states. "We arrested Ilyas and Amarjeet on June 27. During interrogation, Joben Kaler's name came up, and we included it in the FIR. When the heroin was seized in Barmer on June 30, his name surfaced again. We have intensified our investigation," said Hanuman Prasad, SP of Didwana-Kuchaman, on Tuesday. He added that a police team was sent to Uttar Pradesh to track down other members of the smuggling network. Just four days after the arrests in Didwana, a joint operation by Punjab Police, BSF, and Rajasthan Police intercepted the 60.3 kg heroin consignment in Barmer. Briefings from these departments named Pakistan-based Tanveer Shah and Joben Kaler as the key handlers of the drug network. Nine suspects from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Jammu & Kashmir were arrested. The investigation also uncovered a hawala system used to launder the drug money. SP Prasad said the weapons seized from Ilyas and Amarjeet were also smuggled through Pakistan, and the consignment is believed to have been arranged by Kaler. Police believe that after moving to Canada on a student visa in 2021, Kaler was using Rajasthan's remote desert areas near the border as landing zones for both arms and drugs. His role in managing both smuggling operations makes it easier for traffickers to send heroin, pistols, and ammunition in a single drop—using drones or camel couriers—which saves time and avoids detection. Currently, Didwana Police teams are stationed in western Uttar Pradesh to track money mules linked to the gang, based on details from the interrogation of arrested couriers. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
South China Morning Post
20-06-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Chinese engineers bring artillery-launched drones from concept to life
After 12 years of technical hurdles and scepticism, China has successfully tested artillery-launched drones capable of surviving the crushing load in a 155mm (6 inches) cannon shell. Five live-fire trials at a western test base confirmed the drones endured launch forces exceeding 3,000 times their own weight – comparable to 35 adult African elephants on a person. The advance centres on a pyrotechnic ejection mechanism co-developed by the Shaanxi Applied Physics and Chemistry Research Institute, the Chinese air force, and defence contractor Norinco. This highly reliable but low-cost system orchestrates a sequence of precisely timed detonations to separate the drone from its artillery shell mid-flight while shielding it from aerodynamic damage – all without electronic controls. These drones can 'reach distances exceeding 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) in seconds, multiply flight range, significantly save power consumption and extend loiter time,' the team, led by senior engineer Huang Yunluan, wrote. A look inside at the artillery-launched drone system. Photo: Shaanxi Applied Physics and Chemistry Research Institute First proposed by Chinese military scientists in 2013, a cannon-launching design named Tianyan ('sky eye') gained attention in a new-concept aircraft competition, according to state-run China News Service.
Otago Daily Times
10-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Clinton man growing more than veges
A South Otago organic farmer had cannabis growing on his rural property and a safe full of guns under his bed, a court has heard. Wairuna Organics owner Shaun James McVicker, 61, was before the Gore District Court last Wednesday for possessing the guns and ammunition without a licence, and growing and possessing cannabis on his 10-acre (0.4ha) Clinton farm. The police summary said a police search warrant was executed on the semi-rural property on March 4, discovering a Winchester shotgun, a .22 calibre Norinco bolt-action rifle, a .303 Lee Enfield bolt-action rifle, a .22 cali bolt-action rifle and ammunition locked in a safe in his bedroom. The ammunition in the safe consisted of 342 .22 calibre live rounds, 72 live shotgun rounds and 20 .303 calibre live rounds. McVicker said he used the firearms to protect his certified organic produce, the summary said. Also found were five mature cannabis plants growing in soil and a glass jar containing 43.32gm of cannabis head. In court, Judge Duncan Harvey said he was unsure at first which crops the defendant said he was protecting — his vegetables or his cannabis. "After I found out a bit more about you, I now understand what you meant by that," the judge said. "You are an organic farmer, you've been growing vegetables for many, many years, and I accept that that is what you were referring to." Judge Harvey said the man's response was essentially "so what" to the cannabis. The judge also said the case was unusual as the firearms were locked in a safe, as opposed to being left strewn about the place. "He behaves as if he has a firearms licence, but unfortunately he has not." Defence counsel John Fraser said his client led a relatively reclusive life on his organic farm. McVicker said he no longer held firearms and now had other community members come to shoot the rabbits on his property. The court heard the man had health issues and was self-medicating with the cannabis, but had since got a legal prescription for the drug. "I am satisfied that your use of cannabis has been solely for your own purposes," the judge said. "There is no suggestion that you have been selling that cannabis or supplying that cannabis to anybody else." It was "quite clear" the vegetable-grower had a history of cannabis use due to his prior convictions, the judge said, but he had no previous firearms convictions. The man had letters from the the community speaking highly of his character, the judge said. "It is clear that you have done an enormous amount of good in your community, and I suspect you continue to do so," Judge Harvey said. For the possession of firearms, ammunition, cultivating and possessing the cannabis, the judge sentenced McVicker to 150 hours' community service. The judge said that so Corrections could "keep an eye on his health", the defendant was sentenced to 12 months' supervision.
Otago Daily Times
04-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Organic farmer says illegal guns 'to protect his veggies'
A South Otago organic farmer had cannabis growing on his rural property and a safe full of guns under his bed, a court has heard. Wairuna Organics owner Shaun James McVicker, 61, was before the Gore District Court yesterday for possessing the guns and ammunition without a licence, and growing and possessing cannabis on his 10-acre Clinton farm. The police summary said a police search warrant was executed on the semi-rural property on March 4, discovering a Winchester shotgun, a .22 calibre Norinco bolt-action rifle, a .303 Lee Enfield bolt-action rifle, a .22 cali bolt-action rifle and ammunition locked in a safe in his bedroom. The ammunition in the safe consisted of 342 .22 calibre live rounds, 72 live shotgun rounds and 20 .303 calibre live rounds. McVicker said he used the firearms to protect his certified organic produce, the summary said. Also found were five mature cannabis plants growing in soil and a glass jar containing 43.32gm of cannabis head. In court, Judge Duncan Harvey said he was unsure at first which crops the defendant said he was protecting — his vegetables or his cannabis. "After I found out a bit more about you, I now understand what you meant by that," the judge said. "You are an organic farmer, you've been growing vegetables for many, many years, and I accept that that is what you were referring to." Judge Harvey said the man's response was essentially "so what" to the cannabis. The judge also said the case was unusual as the firearms were locked in a safe, as opposed to being left strewn about the place. "He behaves as if he has a firearms licence, but unfortunately he has not." Defence counsel John Fraser said his client led a relatively reclusive life on his organic farm. McVicker said he no longer held firearms and now had other community members come to shoot the rabbits on his property. The court heard the man had health issues and was self-medicating with the cannabis, but had since got a legal prescription for the drug. "I am satisfied that your use of cannabis has been solely for your own purposes," the judge said. "There is no suggestion that you have been selling that cannabis or supplying that cannabis to anybody else." It was "quite clear" the vegetable-grower had a history of cannabis use due to his prior convictions, the judge said, but he had no previous firearms convictions. The man had letters from the the community speaking highly of his character, the judge said. "It is clear that you have done an enormous amount of good in your community, and I suspect you continue to do so," Judge Harvey said. For the possession of firearms, ammunition, cultivating and possessing the cannabis, the judge sentenced McVicker to 150 hours' community service. The judge said that so Corrections could "keep an eye on his health", the defendant was sentenced to 12 months' supervision.
