Police Minister Bheki Cele says police will continue searching for suspects who are terrorising communities in Pietermaritzburg and surrounding areas.
Four suspects were arrested over the weekend during an intelligence-driven operation. Last week, seven suspects including two women were killed during a shootout with police at a house in nearby Scottsville.
Seven suspects shot and killed:
It is believed those killed were part of the notorious gang that had been terrorising people at Plessislaer. Police Ministry spokesperson Lirandzu Themba says the operation made led to suspects being arrested.
“The intelligence-driven operation was conducted in Alexander Policing area to search for the outstanding suspects that are terrorising the residents of Pietermaritzburg and surrounding areas of the whereabouts of the gangs. The SAPS team traced the suspects to a large house situated on Woodhurt road not far from where the seven suspects were fatally wounded last week. Four suspects aged between 18 and 30 were arrested, each found in possession of illegal pistols with rounds of ammunition. The arrested suspects had been linked to a string of murder cases, that were committed in the Pietermaritzburg, Imbali, Richmond and Bergville.”
Western Cape arrests
Meanwhile, the Eden Cluster in the Garden Route District in the Western Cape have arrested about 500 suspects over the weekend for various crimes ranging from the contravention of COVID-19 Regulations and other serious crimes. Eighteen of those arrested were wanted suspects.
The law enforcement operations included high visibility patrols in crime stricken areas, stop and search operations with a special focus on drug and liquor outlets, illegal firearms, the tracing of wanted suspects and the confiscation of dangerous weapons.
Most of the suspects will appear in the local magistrate’s court today.
