SAPS firearms backlog in the Western Cape has left thousands of confiscated firearms unexamined, undermining criminal prosecutions and community safety, reports Cape town Etc .
A parliamentary reply shows SAPS seized 3104 firearms between 2023 and 2025. Only 466 have been linked to past criminal activity through the Integrated Ballistics Identification System and 2985 remained untested within the 90-day departmental timeline as of December 2025.
Many confiscated weapons have no serial numbers, complicating tracing, and 58 firearms were reported stolen from state officials between 2023 and 2025, the DA said in a previous statement .
