Cape Town - Eight suspects detained after the murder of policeman Steven Britz have been released without being charged.
But two of the 10 people taken in for questioning remain in custody and will appear in court on Tuesday.
Britz, 44, was shot twice in the head while alone on duty at the Klapmuts police station last Wednesday night
Seven guns were stolen in the incident. Nine of the men were arrested at a shebeen in Kayamandi on Friday night – including a policeman, aged 30.
Weekend reports said the arrested policeman had been absent from duty at the police station since March. He had been due to attend a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday, but failed to turn up. He was traced via a fingerprint found at the murder scene.
Warrant Officer Francois Ross, a close friend of Britz, was quoted as saying: “The chances that he would have been dismissed were 99 percent.”
A 10th suspect, aged 35, was arrested at his home in Kayamandi on suspicion that he had taken possession of the firearms that were stolen from a safe at the police station. He and the policeman were due to appear in Paarl Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday although it was unclear what charges they would face.
Police spokesman Andre Traut said on Monday that the investigation remained “urgent and intensive” and said there could be more arrests.
The eight had been released due to “insufficient evidence at present linking them to the crime”.
According to a post on the Facebook page of Britz’s wife, Lee Ann Britz, her husband’s laptop and bag were also stolen during the attack.
Britz had worked as a policeman for 22 years, while the arrested policeman had served in the SAPS for four years.
Britz leaves his wife and sons Michael, 18, and Matthew, 11.
Cape Argus