THE five men arrested after a shootout that ended on Umhlanga Rocks Drive this morning were found in possession of muti. The suspects were nabbed after a high speed car chase ended outside the Shell Garage on the busy road, opposite Mcdonalds at about 5.30am this morning. The chase began in Phoenix police said this morning. The suspect’s vehicle, a silver Toyota Corolla, was spotted by the Durban North Field Unit who joined the pursuit.
“We recovered a number of house break-in implements, including screwdrivers, balaclava’s, gloves, a huge bolt cutter. The suspects were also in possession of three phials of a substance called ukugqiha, a muti like substance, which allegedly makes people rubbing it in to their skin or swallowing it impervious to bullets. Normally suspects would cut themselves with a razor and then apply the brown leafy substance to the wound, thus protecting them from any harm,” he said.
Two of the suspects were also wounded in the shootout.
“The suspects opened fire on the officers, who returned fire during the chase. As they neared the N2 offramp, the suspects threw their guns out the windows. The chase eventually ended outside the Shell Garage. The SAPS K9 Unit are currently searching for the weapons,” Lt Raymond Deokaran, spokesman for the Durban North SAPS explained.
Deokaran also revealed one of the five suspects was recently released on bail for a house break-in in uMhlali.
The suspects vehicle which has Estcourt number plates were traced and found to be legitimate. However, Deokaran could not say whether or not the vehicle was stolen or not.
