Scrap-metal dealer finds mortar in bag

Don’t handle or touch it. This was the warning by Edenvale police who were called in after a mortar was found at a scrapyard.

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Johannesburg - Don’t handle or touch it. This was the warning by Edenvale police who were called in after a mortar was found at a scrapyard in Eastleigh.

Spokesman Captain Jean Olckers said they were informed of the find by the scrapyard owner.

“He always checks inside the bags with the scrap metal when they are dropped off and weighed. The owner saw it and contacted us immediately. We are thankful he did,” Olckers said.

The mortar was removed by flash officers and the Bomb Disposal Unit as they are the only ones allowed to handle such items.

“We’re not sure if it’s live yet or where exactly it comes from; that will be assessed and released in a report soon.”

Olckers said the police suspected that people disposed of such items in their dustbins which were then picked up by scrap-metal recyclers, who in turn sold them to scrap-metal dealers.

“This is the second time we’ve been called in to remove a mortar from this same scrapyard. Earlier this year, this owner alerted us. The type of mortar that was found was a practice device.

“We’ve also been called by people who have found hand grenades and other weapons.”

Olckers said it was a criminal offence to be in possession of such things.

“If you find grenades or mortars or anything suspicious, we implore you not to handle or touch them. Call the police immediately because it may be live and could cause serious harm or damage,” he added.

Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said there had been incidents where mortars had exploded while being handled at scrapyards.

“A few years back in Boksburg, a mortar canister was also sold as a scrap. While an employee was flattening metals with a hammer to throw them into the heap, the mortar exploded.

“The employee was hit in the head and died instantly. The shrapnel also damaged the building,” Dlamini said.

In terms of the Second Hand Goods Act, Dlamini said, the owners of second-hand goods premises must keep a register with the details of all the goods sold to them.

Regarding Monday’s case, Dlamini said the owner of the scrapyard had given details of a homeless person who had handed in the mortar.

“He (the homeless man) alleged that he picked it up in a dustbin,” Dlamini said.

He said investigations were continuing.

ilanit.chernick@inl.co.za

@Lanc_02

The Star