Pretoria - The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) on Tuesday said it was close to tracking down the suspects in the killing of two police officers in separate incidents on Monday.
In a statement on Tuesday, police spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said the Hawks Task Team was following a number of leads.
On Monday night, 51-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Renier Lourens Logois was shot dead at his home in Rietondale, Pretoria.
Logois was the Head of Support at Leote police station.
“Fourteen used cartridges were found at the scene. His 1993 Toyota Corolla is also missing and it is suspected that the culprits used it as a getaway vehicle,” Mulaudzi said.
Also on Monday, Constable Mbuyisela James Concoshi’s body was found on the back seat of his car along the road between Riebeeckstad and Thabong in Welkom, Free State.
The 34-year-old police officer was stationed at Welkom police station with the Crime Prevention Unit.
“The marks on his neck showed that he was strangled to death. He also had wounds on his head.”
The National Head of the Hawks, Lieutenant General Mthandazo Ntlemeza, said the perpetrators were on a list of most wanted suspects in the country.
He said: “They will not enjoy freedom for long.”
“We have said it before that killing a police officer is declaring war against the State. Killing a police officer is threatening the security of the country and we will never allow cold-blooded criminals to run riot in our country.
“We are hunting the suspects and we will find them. We are determined to remove them from the society and their days of tormenting our officers are numbered,” said Ntlemeza.
African News Agency