Four wanted murder / C.I.T robbery suspects fatally wounded in a shootout with police

DURBAN – Four suspects were shot and fatally wounded and another one injured in a shootout with police in Sydenham on Wednesday afternoon.

A multidisciplinary team consisting of police officers from the DPCI Provincial Tracking Team, DPCI Anti-Gang Unit, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Tactical Response Team (TRT), the Pietermaritzburg K9 Unit as well as private security personnel operationalised intelligence about the whereabouts of the suspects who were wanted for various violent crimes including cash in transit robberies and murders.

Police intercepted the suspects on Moses Kotane Road and instructed the suspects’ vehicle to stop. The driver defied police instructions and the occupants of the vehicle opened fire towards the police as they sped off. A shootout ensued and the suspects’ vehicle crashed against the wall at the corner of Moses Kotane and Barns road. All four suspects sustained fatal gunshot wounds inside the vehicle.

The fifth suspect got out of a moving vehicle and was shot and injured. He was found in possession of a firearm and was arrested. The number of firearms found inside the vehicle will be confirmed once the search is completed, although police can confirm that one of the firearms found inside the vehicle is a police issued pistol.

During their interception, information at police disposal was that the suspects were enroute to execute a hit on a man and two of his bodyguards. The suspects were also wanted for murders of people mostly involved in the construction industry.