A CACHE of alleged illegal weapons was discovered at the farm Tsaobis near Karibib on Saturday, with more being discovered in a follow-up search by police at the farm owner's Tsumeb home on Wednesday.

The owner, who is apparently a lecturer at the Tsumeb campus of the Namibia Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT), was arrested on Wednesday on a charge of contravening the Namibia Arms and Ammunition Act. He will appear in the Karibib Magistrate's Court today.

According to Erongo's acting regional crime investigation coordinator, Inspector Erastus Iikuyu, the suspect will also be charged in connection with the discovery of weapons at Tsumeb, which will lead to another case of illegal possession of arms and ammunition in the Tsumeb Magistrate's Court, possibly tomorrow.

A police spokesperson, Inspector Kauna Shikwambi, said the police were informed by a community member that the firearms were buried in the bush near the farmhouse. The police at Karibib followed up on the report and found 12 firearms - two pistols, one semi-automatic rifle and nine hunting rifles.

A search warrant was issued for the farm owner's Tsumeb home, which led to the discovery of an explosive device (a "type of hand grenade") and unauthorised ammunition of various calibres in the suspect's vehicle, according to Iikuyu.

"An investigation will reveal whether all these firearms do in fact belong to the owner, whether they are all licensed and why they were buried," said Shikwambi.