Two more FState ‘BTK’ gang members arrested

Two alleged gang members who have evaded arrest since their eight counterparts were arrested earlier this week were arrested in Kopanong in Bloemfontein in the early hours of Friday morning, Free State police said.

Crime intelligence-led information resulted in the arrest of two remaining “Born to Kill” (BTK) gang members, who called themselves the “10 battalion BTK assault team”, Colonel Thandi Mbambo said.

“One of the two arrested was the “most wanted”, implicated in a number of violent crimes round Mangaung,” she said.

The arrests, effected by the provincial trio task team, crime intelligence, and tactical response team (TRT) members, brought the number of arrests to 10.   They had already appeared briefly in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court.

All 10 would appear in court on Monday on two charges of murder, attempted murder, and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, Mbambo said.

Free State police commissioner Lt-Gen Lebeoana Tsumane welcomed the arrests, especially of the most notorious BTK gang member. “We`ve been looking for this young man for a while after he was named in a number of violent attacks in Mangaung. We will work with the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] to ensure that these suspects remain behind bars while we continue to fight this war against gangs in Mangaung,” Tsumane said.

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