Johannesburg - Three muti-covered men were arrested for possession of an unlicensed firearm in Irene, Pretoria police said on Wednesday.
The men, who had the medicinal mixtures wrapped around their bodies had skipped a red robot on Tuesday night, prompting members of the Pretoria dog unit to stop them, said Captain Colette Weilbach.
"They had bags with leaves, dust and bones wrapped around their bodies... the general belief amongst criminals is that muti gives them courage to commit crime and make them invincible to police but we are not yet sure if this was the case,' Weilbach said.
"We are not sure if they were on their way to commit crime but they had a .32 revolver with its serial number filed off," she said.
The men, aged between 19 and 21 were expected to appear in the Hatfield community court on Thursday.
- SAPA
