2023-09-02 06:17:53
A total of 18 suspected thieves have lost life this Friday during a shootout with the South African Police in the province of Limpopo, as reported by the local newspaper ‘the Star’ citing police sources.
The national commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Fannie Masemola, has explained that the suspects were allegedly planning a cash-in-transit (CIT) robbery and has confirmed that similar crimes had already been perpetrated in other provinces. “We believe that this union has been involved in several CITs in this province, Mpumalanga and Gauteng,” Masemola said, adding that for this reason, several SAPS units were monitoring the group of suspects. “Surveillance was carried out for several days before an already identified address in Makhado was attacked today” (Friday), she clarified.
The representative of the South African Police has recounted that “as soon as the Police approached the address, the group of suspects began to shoot and the agents retaliated.” Thus, a shooting began that lasted for approximately 90 minutes and has resulted in 16 men and two women dead and one agent injured, reports ‘The Star’. The wounded policeman is a high-ranking officer attached to the Priority Crimes Investigation Directorate – better known as the ‘Halcones’ – who was immediately taken to the hospital to receive medical attention.
Four other suspects were arrested after the shooting at a second address. Police have seized a total of seven automatic rifles and ten vehicles, including several high-performance vehicles. “Several police experts continue to comb the place and we will continue to increase the police presence throughout the country. We believe that this syndicate has been involved in several robberies of cash in transit in this province,” Masemola has sentenced.
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