Police in KwaZulu-Natal have arrested five suspects who were believed to have been about to carry out a hit on a prominent Durban individual on Thursday.
Provincial SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said police officers recovered two AK47 assault rifles.
He said police officers were conducting routine patrols in Cato Manor when they were alerted by a resident about suspicious-looking occupants driving around the area.
“The tactically-ready police officers called for back-up and the suspects were cornered on Montille Road. Four suspects who were travelling in two vehicles were arrested and two AK47 assault rifles were found in one of the vehicles.
“One vehicle attempted to speed off but was outsmarted by the police who managed to stop it a few kilometres from the original scene, where the fifth suspect was arrested,” Naicker said.
He said police have since launched a manhunt for the sixth suspect.
He added that preliminary investigations have revealed that one of the vehicles was reported hijacked by four knife-wielding suspects in Inanda earlier this month.
The men are due to appear in court soon.
Meanwhile, in a separate matter, two suspects have been remanded in custody after they were nabbed for a robbery in Pinetown.
Naicker said the pair, who are due back in the Pinetown Regional Court on April 26, are aged 24 and 26 and were arrested on charges of armed robbery and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
He said police investigation successfully placed the two suspects at the crime scenes in Mariannhill, and the firearm which was found in their possession was positively linked with the murder of five people who were killed on the same day at two separate crime scenes.
KZN police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has praised the police officers who acted swiftly on information from a community member.
He said the successful arrest of suspected hitmen contributed in maintaining the trust that residents of KwaZulu-Natal had in the police.
“We always encourage community members to provide us with information about criminal activities, and the actions of the police officers who worked on the information and prevented a murder or murders is commendable.
“Working together with our communities we can rid our areas of many illegal firearms that criminals use to torment law-abiding residents and create fear and panic within communities,” Mkhwanazi said.
IOL