Durban - Three suspects allegedly responsible for the death of a Magma Security officer during a business robbery last month in Richmond were killed during a shoot-out with police in the Thathani area of Highflats in KwaZulu-Natal.
Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said that last Thursday police received information about a vehicle that had been hijacked in Ixopo after the driver had been kidnapped and dumped in the bushes.
Gwala said the vehicle had been used in a house robbery that had been committed in the Thathani area of Highflats.
“The occupants of the house were held at gunpoint by four armed men. They were robbed of cash, an airgun, cellphones, and other items,” she said.
Police were immediately alerted to a house robbery and a joint operation was put in place, she added.
Gwala said that, when the suspects were approached, there was a shoot-out.
“Three suspects were fatally wounded, while the fourth managed to flee the scene,” she said.
Police recovered four firearms, as well as the items that were stolen during the house robbery, she said.
She said police established that the suspects had been involved in a business robbery and murder where a Magma Security official had been shot dead on October 29.
According to Gwala, the business robbery occurred at premises situated in Shepstone Street in Richmond, where a group of armed men entered the place of business and demanded cash.
“A vehicle from Magma Security was stopped by security guards. A shot was fired by the suspects at the vehicle and it struck a reaction officer from Magma Security and Investigation, aged 31, who died at the scene,” she said.
