A 47-year-old suspect wanted for several crimes committed in eThekwini and uMkhanyakude district was arrested in Welbedacht, Chatsworth after a joint intelligence-driven operation.
Durban — A suspect arrested after police acted on information regarding a double murder case in the oPhondweni area of Ingwavuma will appear in court on Monday.
KwaZulu-Natal Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Sibu Ncane said that on Thursday, a 47-year-old suspect wanted for several crimes committed in eThekwini and uMkhanyakude district was arrested in Welbedacht, Chatsworth, following a joint intelligence-driven operation conducted by Hawks members from the Anti-Gang Unit, Provincial Tracking Team alongside other law-enforcement agencies and security companies.
Ncane said police acting on information related to a double murder case that occurred in the oPhondweni area of Ingwavuma proceeded to Chatsworth to arrest the suspect.
“A high-speed chase ensued along the N2, During which the suspect was arrested and charged with double murder,” Ncane said.
He said police then launched a search operation to locate the second suspect in the area.
“When members approached the suspect, he opened fire on the members and members subsequently returned fire. The suspect was fatally wounded. A pistol was recovered from the suspect and a vehicle suspected to have been used in the commission of crime was confiscated,” Ncane said.
“The firearm will be sent for ballistic tests to ascertain if it was not used in the commission of any crime in the country.”
Ncane said the arrested suspect is expected to appear in the Ingwavuma Magistrate’s Court, on Monday, September 16.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, police in Richards Bay arrested a 19-year-old suspect wanted for the murder of Khanya Mthembu, 21, whom he allegedly stabbed to death in the Mzingazi area last Sunday.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said information at police’s disposal suggests that the suspect and the deceased victim had an altercation at a tavern and when the victim left the tavern, the suspect reportedly followed him and stabbed him to death next to a sports field.
Netshiunda said that on Wednesday night, Richards Bay Crime Prevention police officers gathered intelligence about a suspect hitch-hiking in the Madlankala area in Esikhaleni as he wanted to escape to his hideout in Nongoma.
“An operation was immediately put in motion and the suspect was offered a lift by a police officer who was driving an unmarked police vehicle. The police officer pulled over at a filling station and tactically requested back-up, leading to the arrest of the suspect,” Netshiunda said.
WhatsApp your views on this story at 071 485 7995.
Daily News