A considerable number of firearms from the Botswana Police Service’s Central Arms Registry unit have allegedly turned up for sale on the black market and they are used by criminals to commit armed robberies across the country, Sunday Standard investigations have revealed.
It has since emerged that a senior police officer is facing serious charges of stealing guns from a police precinct in order to sell them on the black market. The case is being investigated by the Crime Intelligence Bureau, an intelligence unit within the Botswana Police Service (BPS).
Sunday Standard has also turned up information that the officer in question has threatened former police chiefs and current ones that he has a dossier implicating them in the illicit dealings of fire arms.
“Some of the high ranking and former high ranking police officers have been questioned by the investigating officers. This is because some of them own two guns each. The policy within the police is that a senior police officer who has retired or holding office should be issued with a gun by the government. But there are reports that some former Police chiefs and current ones have issued themselves fire arms without authorisation,” sources said.
It is also understood that when some of the criminal suspects were interrogated by the police as to how they came to be in possession of firearms, they informed investigating officers that they were supplied with guns from the Police Central Arms Registry by some officers-in-charge.
“His customers were also Indian nationals who bought unlicensed guns in an effort to protect their businesses,” said another source. The source also added that some officers at the Police Central Arms registry would target family members of deceased gun owners claiming that they should sell them the firearm claiming that if they did not the government would repossess it.
Sunday Standard investigations have also revealed that a number of gun shop owners around the country were questioned in relation to the illicit dealing of fire arms at Police Central Arms Registry.
While he denied that his recent questioning by the police was linked to the ongoing investigations into the matter, the Managing Director of Pan African Ammunition Manufactures (PAM), Mike Botha, confirmed that he was recently interrogated by the police officers but on a different matter.
“I would say my relationship with Police Central Arms Registry is quite good and an excellent one,” he said. He described the Police Central Arms Registry as an efficient unity within the Police Service.
“I really know them as efficient. I was called to come over there and interviewed but their questioning was just a routine thing,” said Botha.
Another gun shop Managing Director, Amin Moraad of Explosion, confirmed that he was at one stage summoned to appear before the Broadhurst Police Station recently.
“They wanted to know if a certain man from Ghanzi region knew me. The man answered in the negative. Apparently they were suspecting that his gun license was not properly issued,” he said.
Contacted for comment, Senior Assistant Commissioner Mathews Letsholo confirmed the incident and described the matter as sensitive. He also confirmed that a number of people had been questioned in relation to the matter.
“Although I do not want to qualify the investigations as massive, I can confirm that we are investigating a sensitive matter at the Police Central Arms Registry in which one of our officers has been suspended on full pay and he is still under investigation.”
Letsholo, who was cagey with details, revealed that their investigations were at an advanced stage.
“I don’t want to go into details because doing so might compromise our investigations. You should bear in mind that when we suspect that there is something wrong, it is within our right to launch preliminary investigations,” said Letsholo. He said they do not carry out their investigations through the media. He, however, acknowledged the role the media plays in assisting them to “follow some leads at times”.
“At this stage, we are not in a position to say the kind of charges that are likely to be preferred against the officer in question or whether he was colluding with other officers or not until our investigations are complete,” said Letsholo.
Letsholo would not confirm allegations that the officer in question had been tailed by some of his colleague for quite some time, which led to an incident in which they pounced on him and was found in possession of P48 000, which he failed to account for.
Asked if it was the first case of its kind, Letsholo said it was his first time to authorise such kind of investigation into Police Central Registry on behalf of the Police Commissioner.
“It is a sensitive matter because we do not know the extent to which our investigations will lead us. If we were to share more details with the media now some of the things that we could use as exhibits are likely to disappear. We appreciate the role you play as the media but at times we have to be stingy when necessary as far is releasing information is concerned,” said Letsholo.
He reiterated that the matter is sensitive because what they are likely to unearth during their investigations could be brought before court.
On whether former and current senior officers have issued themselves extra firearms without authorisation as alleged by some officers at Police Central Arms Registry, Letsholo said only the Police Commissioner was in a position to respond to that question.
“I wouldn’t want to go into that because that is the domain of the Police Commissioner,” he said.
When asked if illegal possession of guns in the country was a source for concern, Letsholo said: “Even if we record one incident of illegal possession of a gun in the country in one week that is worrisome.”
