Durban — Police in Durban shot and killed five suspects who were wanted for murder and robbery cases following a shootout that happened in the evening of Tuesday 30 July.
A multi-disciplinary team from several units in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) tracked and traced the suspects and received intel on their whereabouts. Police followed the suspects to a rented double-storied flat on Standard Road in Cato Crest.
When police arrived on the scene, they announced their presence and the suspects opened fire on them, police said in a statement.
“A shootout ensued and after the ceasefire, five suspects were found to have sustained fatal gunshot wounds. An AK47 assault rifle, three handguns and drugs were found in the possession of the suspects,” police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, said.
He confirmed that the suspects were linked to four counts of murder, 13 cases of business robbery and another carjacking case, which were committed in the Cato Manor and Durban Central police precincts. Netshiunda said no police officers were injured during the shootout.
#sapsKZN A multidisciplinary team comprising members from various police units in KwaZulu-Natal was tracking and tracing the suspects when they collected intelligence about their whereabouts.
The suspects were cornered at a rented double-storied flat on Standard Road in… pic.twitter.com/04eN4WvDOt
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) July 31, 2024
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Netshiunda said the suspects were middle-aged, suspected to be in their 30s, and he said they were violent. He said there could be more cases that the suspects were linked to.
“When investigators come to identify them, they might link them to their cases. We found four firearms there. One AK-47 assault rifle and three handguns. Those guns, when they are taken to ballistics, maybe they will link them to more cases that we are yet to know about,” he said.
“What we also know about them, is these were criminals that were terrorising the areas of Cato Manor, and they were also targeting businesses in and around the city of Durban,” he added.
Five suspected criminals in KwaZulu-Natal have been killed in another shootout with police in the province. Police Spokesperson Robert Netshiunda says the suspects were allegedly linked to murders and robberies in and around Durban. They were found in a rented house in Cato… pic.twitter.com/uz6feo90cR
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) July 31, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
