A dangerous armed robber and his two accomplices, have been arrested by police in a major breakthrough in the hunt for gangs.
|||Durban - A dangerous armed robber and his two accomplices - linked to at least eight recent armed robberies in the Outer West area - have been arrested by police in a major breakthrough in the hunt for gangs that have had residents under siege for months.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokes-man, Colonel Vincent Mdunge, confirmed the arrests and said police were committed to restoring peace and order in the area. “This is one of the bigger gangs operating in the area. It is a major breakthrough for us,” he said on Wednesday.
A police source described the trio - aged between 22 and 27 - as “hardened and dangerous”, with no care for human life.
They were known to shoot, stab and assault their victims, the source said.
“They are merciless. They like to see their victims suffer. They don’t have to be provoked to shoot or kill - they are trigger-happy and will shoot just for fun,” he said.
The suspects were arrested between Monday night and Tuesday morning. Police recovered unlicensed firearms, ammunition, jewellery, electronic equipment, clothing and cellphones from the homes of all three suspects.
Most of the goods have been identified from house robberies in recent weeks.
The source said the gang had been linked to at least eight armed robberies in the Outer West area.
Police are investigating whether the gang had been involved in the robberies that claimed the lives of Ashley grandfather Hendrik Potgieter, 78, and Waterfall resident Rodney Bradley.
The trio are expected to appear in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Thursday on charges of murder, attempted murder, armed robbery and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
The gang leader, a convicted armed robber who has been linked to one of the gangs terrorising residents in the Outer West area since January, was arrested at his luxury home in KwaNuyswa, near Botha’s Hill.
The source said the house was fitted with state-of-the-art electronics, furniture and appliances. Two cars licensed in the suspect’s name were parked on the property.
“He is unemployed but drives fancy cars and lives a life of luxury,” the source said.
One of his accomplices was arrested in the area and the other at an informal settlement in Wyebank.
Police are on the hunt for two more members of the gang. One has been described as “armed and dangerous” while the other is said to be the buyer of the stolen vehicles. The arrests were a combined effort between police and private security company Enforce.
Enforce’s head of investigations, Nico Potgieter, said the breakthrough came on Friday when an informer tipped them off about a man in possession of stolen goods on the KZN South Coast.
“We were told that the goods were from a house robbery in the Outer West areas. We shared the information with police and the man was picked up in Umkomaas and taken in for questioning on Sunday.”
A sting operation involving warrant officers Rajesh Maharaj and Viresh Panday and Sergeant Deena Govender of the Durban organised crime unit, members of the Durban dog unit and the crime intelligence unit, was set up for Tuesday morning.
Potgieter said the gang leader’s house was hit first.
“This guy was taken by complete surprise. He got the fright of his life.”
He said they then closed in on the accomplices who were equally surprised by their arrest.
On Friday, KZN police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, appointed a team of highly skilled detectives and armed police reinforcements to the Outer West area to quell the surge in violent house robberies.
They will remain in the area for two months when the situation will be reassessed.
Residents have been under siege by the Panga, Finger, Whoonga and Gate Crashers gangs since January. Nine arrests have been made in the past two weeks.
It is unclear which gang the three arrested suspects belong to.
Daily News