UPDATE: Collared Doonside business robbers’ muti fails [MORE PHOTOS]

The five armed business robbers collared in Doonside this morning (Wednesday morning, 7 March) could be responsible for between 10 and 15 robberies committed in Toti in the last three weeks.

This was the estimate from Community Crime Prevention Officer (CCPO) committee member, George Snodey.

The operation was a SAPS initiative, made more effective with the joint intervention of Metro Police’s dog unit and various security roleplayers including ET Rapid Response, CCPO and Blue Security.

They had laid in wait when they spotted the armed gang in a silver car in Warner Beach at about 5am. After a chase and a shootout, with gunshots exchanged between police and the criminals, their car came to a grinding halt at the Seadoone BP garage, with all five being arrested.

READ ALSO: Gun battle wakes Amanzimtoti as armed business robbers finally caught in Doonside

“The tools of their trade were all recovered, as well as firearms they threw out during the chase,” said Snodey. “They had used double-sided tape to attach false registration plates over another set.

These guys are from KwaMashu from what we can gather and are wanted for dozens of cases all over Durban. They are responsible for robberies in Ballito, Westville, Hillcrest and Toti.

READ ALSO: Police shoot-out sees Warner Beach home invaders hijack car to flee

They better understand that if you come to Toti, you may get away with it a few times but we have a large network of guys working together and you will get caught, that’s a definite. If you keep coming back week after week, you will get caught in Toti.

Each thug had muti attached to his body, which is supposed to make them invisible to police and security. Best they get a refund, as it didn’t work too well today.”