TEN members of the KwaMaphumulo Taxi Association and nine Blackwatch armed guards, arrested at Kwadukuza in January, will apply for bail in the Durban Regional Court on 16 February.
The arrest followed a raid by the Hawks on 29 January in joint operation with Kwadukuza SAPS and the Durban Harbour Tactical Response Team, at a residence shared by members of the taxi association and guards.
Police reportedly recovered 15 firearms including AK47 rifles, LM4 semi-automatic rifles, pistols, ammunition, police bullet proof vests and army jackets.
The men were charged with attempted murder, obstructing police officers and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
Provincial Commissioner Lt Gen MMamonnye Ngobeni said the firearms would be sent for ballistic tests to establish if they were used in taxi-related violence cases in the KwaDukuza and Maphumulo areas.
But, defence attorney Yolanda Gielink said: ‘Licences for the seven Blackwatch semi-automatic rifles were delivered to the Hawks by Blackwatch to file in the docket.’
It is denied that the two unlicensed firearms were found in the residence.
The defence will submit that the guards mistakenly believed they were under attack by a rival association and fired in self-defence, following three recent ambushes and the traumatic death of a fellow guard.
‘The guards stopped firing when they realised the fleet of unmarked vehicles and people in black hooded suits were in fact SAPS and Hawks.’
Taxi violence history
The Richards Bay-based Blackwatch VIP Protection & Security contracted the guards to KwaMaphumulo due to an ongoing taxi war with a rival association.
In April 2014, Maphumulo members in funeral convoy with eight Blackwatch guards and members of the SAPS National Intervention Unit were ambushed when gunmen fired on the convoy near Kwadukuza, wounding four Blackwatch guards.
In the same month, a second two-day attack was launched on the Maphumulo Taxi Association rank in Kwadukuza.
On 14 January Maphumulo members and Blackwatch guards drove in convoy to open the Kwadukuza rank.
Several hitmen opened fire and one taxi owner and a guard died and one guard was wounded. Two hitmen died at the scene and one arrest was made at a hospital.
One Blackwatch guard in detention is recovering from a wound sustained in the last attack.
The Blackwatch guards and taxi owners are all complainants in the criminal case for the 14 January attack.
