DURBAN - A syndicate, believed to have orchestrated a crime wave in Westville earlier this year, has been arrested by members of a specialised multi-policing unit.
The arrest of five men and a woman comes after three months of surveillance by the Multi-Operational Response Team.
Police also recovered seven firearms and 150 live rounds of ammunition.
The team was formed in June last year by the former city manager in partnership with the Department of Community Safety and Liaison and the Premier’s Office, and deals specifically with violent crimes.
Metro police’s Superintendent Musa Mbonambi said officers swooped on premises in Clermont where they nabbed the suspects.
“We had been working on this gang for three months, gathering information via our advancing unit and members of the community who assisted. The information gathered and crime intelligence information pointed to the fact that they were active in Westville and surrounding areas,” he explained.
Police were hoping to link the gang to at least 20 cases in and around Westville.
During the raid, police also recovered suspected stolen goods and implements used in crimes.
From the beginning of this year, Westville has been plagued with housebreakings, house robberies and hijackings.
On January 21, a security guard was shot dead in Matapan Road.
Themba Mqwika, who was employed as a security guard for ADT, was responding to a house alarm when he was shot by an armed suspect. Mqwika died at the scene.
A few days later, community patrollers were shot at by fleeing suspects after a house robbery.
The upsurge in crime saw an increased police presence in the plush western Durban suburb.
After a meeting with Fawzia Peer, the deputy mayor, and concerned safety stakeholders, a mobile CCTV circuit was placed in the area.
Metro police’s mounted unit and K9 units were also deployed.
Mbonambi said the recent arrest meant the unit was fulfilling its mandate.
“We will keep up the efforts to look for more criminals, drugs and firearms,” he said.
Captain Nqobile Gwala, police spokesperson, said the suspects, aged between 24 and 37, appeared in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Peer said the arrests represented a breakthrough in the high crime rate, and an ongoing investigation should net more firearms and suspects.
“Due to high police visibility in Westville, crime has been displaced to neighbouring areas. We will assess with police and Community Police Units (CPF) and deploy accordingly. The integrated approach of all security forces working together is paying off and we aim to work together to bring down the crime rate,” Peer said.
Mike Myers, of Westville CPF, said they were encouraged by the arrests.