A firearm allegedly used in the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart has been linked to several other violent crimes across the country.

South African Police Service (SAPS) ballistic expert Mishak Mkhabela told the Madlanga Commission in Pretoria that the same weapons recovered in the Bramley case were connected to more than 20 other murders and attempted murders through the police’s Integrated Ballistics Identification System.

The Commission also heard that details of those links may have been leaked to suspects before forensic analysis was complete.

Mkhabela declined to comment on the matter, while the officer accused of sharing the information is expected to testify later this week.

Chief evidence leader advocate Matthew Chaskalson and Mkhabela engaged on the issue.

“You’re right, this is an issue that we need to take up with captain Mokotloe, but it does seem to me that the real significance of the timeline is that if indeed Captain Mokotloe said what the detectives say he told them when they collected their report in May and June, then somebody with links to the organized crime networks must have conveyed that information directly or indirectly to Captain Mokotloe. Because he couldn’t have found it from avas. Commissioner, I will not comment on that one because I don’t know.”