SA firm linked to illegal arms

Pretoria - A Sandton security firm has been linked to an American cargo ship found carrying automatic weapons in contravention of the Customs and Excise Act in Richard's Bay, the Hawks said on Friday.

Spokesperson Musa Zondi said they were investigating the security company for illegal arm dealings but no charges had been laid.

The Hawks and the SA Revenue Service (Sars) bust six American security guards and the captain of a cargo ship, Redwing, for carrying weapons on Monday.

The ship docked in Richard's Bay was allegedly flying the Marshall Islands flag at the time.

The skipper and his crew were released back to their ship after paying a fine of R50 000 for contravening the Customs and Excise Act - R20 000 fine for the captain and R5 000 each for security guards.

This move was criticised by the Ceasefire Campaign which called for the crew to be charged, saying the levy of a fine and the release of the culprits was a "highly inappropriate intervention".

"Instead of accepting an apology, fining and releasing these gun-runners, they should have been arrested and the arms and the ship should have been seized," said its spokesperson Rob Thomson in a statement.

"The illegal possession and conveyance of arms needs to be treated with the seriousness it deserves."

He said the incident showed that the various government departments were not working together to prevent the transfer of firearms.

The Hawks and Sars were conducting separate investigations into this matter.

According to Sars, the cargo ship had travelled from Mombasa in Kenya, where piracy was common.

- Sapa