Gqeberha firearms dealer Karen Webb. (Photo: Facebook) 
As Gqeberha firearms dealer Karen Webb launched another bid for bail on Thursday, chilling new details emerged in court: more than 1,250 firearms that were allegedly in her care are still missing. More than 100 firearms linked to Webb have already been recovered from crime scenes across the country.
According to an affidavit read into the record by State Advocate Liezel Landman on behalf of Detective Sergeant JJ Botha, the weapons disappeared before Webb’s arrest in February 2024 and have not yet been recovered.
This means, in addition to 132 firearms linked to Webb’s case that were recovered from crime scenes and suspects across the country, an additional 1,255 are allegedly out on the street illegally.
Webb, 41, seated in the dock, showed little reaction as the case against her was laid bare. Her parents, seated in the front row of the public gallery, sporadically shook their heads and spoke under their breath as a string of allegations was levelled against their daughter.
She has been in custody at the North End Prison since her arrest in February 2024 for her alleged involvement in supplying firearms belonging to another dealer, Chris Evans of Aquila Arms, to criminal elements around the country.
She was granted R10,000 bail on appeal in June, but remains behind bars after fresh charges were brought against her, including two counts of murder.
Read more: Gqeberha gun dealer at centre of arms scandal wins bail appeal — but stays behind bars for now
In addition to the murder charges, Webb faces 14 counts of theft, fraud and forgery, as well as several charges related to the Firearms Control Act pertaining to the unauthorised transport of weapons, failure to report the loss or theft of weapons, unauthorised production of ammunition and providing firearms training while uncertified to do so, among other charges.
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She also has two more matters before the court, related to the possession of contraband in prison, as well as theft for allegedly selling her ex-husband’s furniture without his permission.
As Botha’s statement was read into the record, it came to light that several complainants had reported theft charges against Webb.
While some paid for firearms in the hope of receiving them once their licences were approved, others stored firearms with her. However, all the complainants reported similar interactions with Webb – follow-ups being ignored or met with excuses, requests for refunds denied, and ultimately arriving at Webb’s Arms after February 2024 and finding that the business no longer existed.
The court also heard how the Professional Firearms Trainers Council (PFTC) suspended Webb’s certification as a training provider after a surprise inspection uncovered several irregularities.
It was found that the portfolios of evidence of several trainees were incomplete. Some theoretical tests were written in multiple different handwritings, others contained incomplete tests, unmarked tests or even a complete list of answers provided to trainees at the start of the test.
It was also found that despite Webb being the only certified trainer, other employees at Webb’s Arms were conducting classes.
According to the evidence before the court, Webb admitted guilt and in October 2022, the PFTC suspended her training certification for five years. However, it later came to light that she had continued with training, and after a second disciplinary hearing in February 2023, she was permanently expelled by the PFTC.
This brought about an investigation into 1,727 competency certificates approved by the police based on irregular training certificates issued by Webb.
Botha’s statement also unpacked the vast number of firearms that were at one stage stored at the premises of the defunct Webb’s Arms, and how many allegedly remain unaccounted for.
According to Evans, when he entered into a storage agreement with Webb in 2019, he stored a total of 2,025 firearms at Webb’s Arms. Initially, these firearms were kept in the main safe, but were later moved into a separate safe on the premises for which Webb also had a key, according to Evans.
In April 2023, the investigation kicked off after 18 weapons registered to Evans and Aquila Arms’ dealer stock were recovered in the gang-ridden neighbourhoods of Gelvandale and Bethelsdorp. A total of 132 weapons belonging to Evans have since been recovered across the country.
Police confiscated all his firearms. All of Evans’s weapons stored at three other facilities were accounted for. All 132 weapons recovered went missing from his stock stored at Webb’s Arms.
In addition, a further 670 weapons from his stock at Webb’s Arms are still unaccounted for.
Concerning Webb’s weapons, a total of 917 firearms are registered to her dealer stock.
Before her arrest, Webb arranged for 658 firearms to be transported and stored at a premises in Sedgefield, Western Cape.
However, according to Botha, 338 of these weapons were registered to private owners or businesses, and were merely stored at Webb’s Arms.
Only 320 of the firearms recovered from Sedgefield are registered to Webb.
A further 12 firearms from her dealer stock were traced to other dealerships across the country, where they were being stored pending the approval of firearms licences.
This means that of Webb’s 917 registered firearms, only 332 have been traced, leaving 585 unaccounted for.
Adding the 670 missing firearms belonging to Evans, it brings the total of firearms unaccounted for from Webb’s Arms premises to a staggering 1,255.
The matter was postponed until 7 August for judgment. DM