Durban — Two suspects in a cash-in-transit (CIT) robbery were shot and wounded during a shootout with police in Phoenix on the early hours of Tuesday 4 June.
In a police statement, multidisciplinary teams with officers from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (DPCI) – known as the Hawks, a provincial tracking team, a Tactical Response Team (TRT) and a K9 Unit, were searching for the robbers on Monday afternoon.
“After an extensive search throughout the night, the suspects were spotted at Bhamshela in Tongaat early this morning and having defied police’s instruction to stop, a high speed chase continued.” police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, said.
#sapsKZN Two suspected cash in transit robbers were shot and fatally wounded when they started a gunfight with police in Phoenix in the early hours of today, Tuesday, 4 June 2024. #TrioCrimes MLhttps://t.co/J4CUtbN2aU pic.twitter.com/XMpclh8hCH
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) June 4, 2024
Netshiunda said the suspects vehicle crashed into a lamp pole along the Phoenix Highway and the suspects began shooting at the police.
“A shootout ensued and two suspects were fatally shot, one next to the vehicle whereas the other was shot inside a residence where he had run into as he continued shooting at the police. Three rifles and a pistol, several rounds of ammunition as well as an undisclosed amount of money were found in possession of the suspects.” Netshiunda said.
One suspect was arrested after he was found at a block of flats with gunshot wounds. Police are still searching for the other suspects after police found a blood trail in the bushes. Though no police officer was injured, a police vehicle was sprayed with bullets from the suspects.
According to EWN, Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said they had been looking for this group for a while.
“It is part of the team and that group, there was a heist yesterday [Monday] in Kranskop, and of course, they always operate with someone within the companies. Do they have the inside information exactly about the movement of the vehicles? We’ve been hunting them since yesterday [Monday].” he said.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
