ZiMoja updates on the latest crime news in parts of the country.
KWAZULU NATAL: Two suspects, who were wanted in connection with the mass killing of seven family members, were killed in a shootout with the police yesterday. The suspects allegedly shot and killed the Khambule family members, including three children, in execution style on 11 September. At the time, provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said the motive of the killing is suspected to be a family feud and business-related tensions. SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the police were following up on intelligence when they spotted a vehicle fitting the description of the one that the suspects were said to be travelling in. "Police signalled for the driver of the vehicle to stop but the suspects fired shots at officers and the police returned fire in self-defence. During the shootout, two suspects were shot and fatally wounded .Netshiunda said after the shootout, it was also discovered that there was a woman inside the suspects's vehicle who also sustained fatal gunshot wounds. Netshiunda said the police have launched a manhunt for one suspect who escaped arrest on foot.
WESTERN CAPE: A 35-year-old man was arrested after he was found in possession of drugs. The police said members conducted an intelligence-driven operation on Monday and gathered information about an unidentified man in a white minibus taxi delivering a consignment daily at a home in Grassy Park. Warrant officer Joseph Swartbooi said the police members noticed the suspicious minibus and instructed the driver to stop and search him and the vehicle. The police discovered a plastic bag containing mandrax tablets. Swartbooi said the police proceeded to the identified address, where they also searched and recovered 40 sachets filled with methamphetamine, 137 g of heroin and 27 000 mandrax tablets. The suspect will appear before the Wynberg Magistrate's Court today.
WESTERN CAPE: Eight police officers who were arrested over the weekend for extortion will appear in court today. The officers, attached to the Public Order Police, were arrested on Sunday for allegedly extorting money from two shops owned by Chinese nationals in Milnerton. It is alleged that the members, accompanied by another suspect in civilian clothes, took an undisclosed amount of cash from the two shops, allegedly as a protection fee. According to Colonel Andrè Traut, after the incident was reported to police, members of the Anti-Corruption Unit and Provincial Serious and Violent Crime Unit detectives acted swiftly and apprehended the suspects on Sunday night in Milnerton while they were on duty. The officers aged between 24 and 43 will make their first court appearance at the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on charges of extortion, business robbery and corruption.
