MOSES Kotane (Sparks) Road in Sydenham has been closed after four suspects were shot and fatally wounded and another one injured in a shoot-out with police this afternoon (July 17).
According to SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda, a multi-disciplinary team, consisting of police officers from the DPCI Provincial Tracking Team, DPCI Anti-Gang Unit, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Tactical Response Team (TRT), the Pietermaritzburg K9 Unit, as well as private security personnel, operationalised intelligence about the whereabouts of the suspects who were wanted for various violent crimes, including cash-in-transit robberies and murders.
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“Police intercepted the suspects on Moses Kotane Road and instructed the suspects to stop their vehicle. The driver defied police instructions, and the occupants of the vehicle opened fire towards the police as they sped off. A shoot-out ensued, and the suspects’ vehicle crashed against the wall at the corner of Moses Kotane and Barns roads. All four suspects sustained fatal gunshot wounds inside the vehicle,” said Netshiunda.
Netshiunda said the fifth suspect got out of a moving vehicle and was shot and injured. “He was found in possession of a firearm and was arrested. The number of firearms found inside the vehicle will be confirmed once the search is completed although police can confirm that one of the firearms found inside the vehicle is a police-issued pistol.”
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“During their interception, information at police disposal was that the suspects were en route to execute a hit on a man and two of his bodyguards. The suspects were also wanted for murders of people mostly involved in the construction industry,” said Netshiunda.
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