Thirty-four firearms and seven vehicles were also seized during the sting operation, which led to the arrest of the gang last week. “The recovery of the firearms and stolen vehicles believed to have been used to commit serious and violent crimes is commendable,” said national Sanco spokesperson, Jabu Mahlangu.
Mahlangu has called for no bail for the suspects in the case and said that the onslaught against organised crime syndicates needs to be sustained and complemented by successful prosecution and stiff sentences for those involved.
“We are encouraged by efforts to rid our communities of violent crime,” stressed Mahlangu. According to police, one of the suspects was arrested on Sunday morning, May 3 while attending a church service in Baduza Street in KwaThema, Springs.
“He was in possession of an unlicensed firearm and a stolen cellphone,” said Gauteng police spokesman Lungile Dlamini. According to Dlamini, the suspect would face charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm and suspected stolen property when he appeared in the KwaThema Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
The police said nine of the suspects were shot dead during the far-reaching operation, which began on April 25. “Another suspect, wanted for serious crimes, was arrested at the Greenstone Mall in Edenvale by police doing routine crime prevention on Saturday, May 2,” said Dlamini.
The arrested suspect was in possession of two unlicensed firearms and was driving a white BMW X5 that was reported hijacked in Pretoria West. Dlamini said that on further investigation, it was established that the suspect was out on bail for serious and violent crimes, including a murder case in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, and a cash-in-transit robbery in Limpopo.
Police have urged the public to report suspicious-looking vehicles and look out for the following:
* Mostly luxury vehicles driving around with three or four men inside.
* Vehicles with two different registration plates at the back and front or even without registration plates, with a group of three to four people, mostly men, inside.
* Unmarked vehicles with blue lights.
* Unknown vehicles parked next to the gates.
* Two or three people posing as employees of certain companies or as job-seekers.
* A group of men wearing heavy clothing.
* People standing aimlessly near financial institutions or ATMs.
