COPS, WANTED SUSPECTS IN SHOOTOUT

NHLANGANO – Residents of Mathendele in Nhlangano were jolted from their sleep by sounds of gunfire on Saturday morning.

This was after police officers, who were acting on a tip-off, were led to a wild chase for suspected dangerous criminals along the streets of the squalid township, which is located about 4km to the north of the timber growing town.

It all started when residents spotted four suspicious individuals after dawn.
According to the residents the men’s descriptions fitted those of four wanted criminals whose pictures had been published in the media sometime around June this year.

Police were immediately contacted.
The men were seen walking next to a watering hole in the area.

It was not immediately clear whether the quartet had any vehicle parked somewhere in the vicinity.
However, as soon as they noted that police were on their trail, they took off on foot, with dozens of officers chasing after them through the streets of the densely populated residential area.

The dramatic foot chase resulted in gunfire being exchanged between the police and suspects.
Police were first to open fire during the pursuit, in the hope to dissuade the suspects from fleeing.

Several warning shots were fired by the police but that did not stop the quartet from showing their pursuers a clean pair of heels.
The four men were eventually able to find cover in a nearby forest.
Disappeared
Immediately after the men had disappeared into the forest, gunfire was heard coming from that direction.
Witnesses believe the men were trying to return fire.
Upon hearing the commotion, several people got out of their houses to investigate, while others peeped through windows in fear that they could be caught in the crossfire.

No injuries were reported from the drama.
The incident came hot on the heels of a carjacking incident, where a kombi driver was robbed of his vehicle and cash amounting to over E1 200.
The kombi was later abandoned by the thugs who comprised two males and a female.

This was after they had tied the  victim with a rope and further dumped him in a forest around Ekuthuleni, outside Nhlangano. The robbery had taken place on the previous day, where the victim had to crawl for a long distance in order to get help.

Rescued

He was reportedly rescued by passersby after he had reached a road passing through the forest while still crawling.
According to information gathered by this publication, the driver, who was travelling alone from Nhlangano, pulled over after a woman had flagged down the vehicle.

Once he had stopped the kombi, two men got inside at once.
Then without delay, one of them produced a gun and ordered him to surrender the vehicle and his day’s takings.

Both incidents were confirmed by Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, when contacted yesterday.
She said the suspects in both incidents were still at large, and appealed to anyone who might have information that could aid in the ongoing police investigation to come forward.

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