Amid a wave of gang and taxi violence, the Western Cape police have announced that they have seized 880 illegal firearms since 1 April 2025, with dozens of weapons, including 7 assault rifles, confiscated over the past week alone.

Four AK-47s have been seized in Cape Town this week, two Uzis and one other assault rifle. Earlier reports put the number of AK-47s seized at three for this week.

From April to date, more than 55,000 suspects have also been arrested for various crimes.

This includes 679 suspects for gang-related murders and 684 suspects for attempted murders.

In addition, more than 9,000 dangerous weapons were seized over this time period, which includes knives.

Meanwhile, Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile says operational interventions in crime hotspots in Cape Town will continue until calm is fully restored.

This will include search, lockdown and tracing operations.

He says while the areas affected by shooting incidents, both gang and taxi related, are not out of the woods yet, police continue making their presence felt through targeted deployments.

Patekile says confiscating firearms is a top priority.

Here he is speaking on the sidelines of the Interpol Africa conference, which was held at the Century City Conference Centre this week: