Eight suspects arrested following the murder of an off-duty officer
One suspect is still at large for the armed robberies and murder, police say.
Eight suspects believed to be linked to the armed robbery of a Honeydew Police officer and the murder of a Carltonville Police officer, have been arrested.
Honeydew Police media liaison, Warrant Officer Dave Stanton said the arrests happened in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria on April 4.
It was a month before that, when an off-duty Honeydew Police officer responded to an online advertisement for a vehicle that he intended to purchase.
“Once he arrived at the address to inspect the vehicle, he was ambushed and robbed at gunpoint of his personal belongings, including payment for the motor vehicle and his state firearm,” Stanton said.
“A task team was formed at Honeydew SAPS, with an initial focus on intelligence gathering. This proved fruitful and on receiving a tip-off, the task team together with members of Cosmo City SAPS and Rietgat SAPS immediately mobilised.”
The officers travelled to the hideout of the gang situated close to the robbery scene.
“Eight suspects were arrested without incident and were detained for possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, possession of suspected drugs and impersonating a police officer. Four handguns with filed-off serial numbers were recovered, one of which was identified as the state firearm belonging to the robbed police officer. An assortment of police uniforms was also recovered at the address.”
Investigations by the Honeydew and Cosmo City task team revealed that the gang was linked to the armed robbery and murder of a Carltonville Police officer in March.
In this incident, the officer was lured to the same area under similar conditions.
“Tragically the off-duty Carltonville SAPS police officer was ambushed, shot and killed.”
Stanton added that a search is ongoing for one suspect who is still at large.
As investigations continue, additional charges will likely be levelled against the eight suspects in custody, he said.
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