Pretoria — A suspect was found fatally wounded in a car with an R5 rifle, an AK47, and a cell phone after a shootout with police in the Witbank area.
According to South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Warrant Officer Bonnie Nxumalo, The Hawks’ Tactical Operations Management Section (TOMS) with National Intervention Unit (NIU) received information about a group of suspects from Gauteng who were en route to commit a cash-in-transit robbery in the Mpumalanga province.
On Tuesday, the information led the teams to Nelspruit where two Mercedes Benz and a Volvo were spotted near one of the cash management bases in Nelspruit.
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After monitoring the vehicles, the occupants were seen leaving the area through the N4 highway in the afternoon towards Johannesburg and were pursued by Police.
“Upon spotting the vehicle on the Middelburg/ Witbank Road, the police instructed the occupants to stop but the suspects responded by firing shots at the police and a shootout ensued. Suspects abandoned two of the vehicles and fled the scene on foot,” Nxumalo said.
Along with the fatally wounded suspect, a burnt Volvo SUV was later recovered in Vosman.
“Police investigation revealed that two Mercedes Benz vehicles were hijacked in Cleveland and Yeoville respectively,” Nxumalo added.
On Wednesday, police recovered a Mercedes Benz at the premises in Kabokweni Village. It was discovered that the vehicle was stolen in Barberton.
The search for the suspects remains ongoing.
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Compiled by Junaid Benjamin
